tag:theconversation.com,2011:/global/topics/memory-162/articlesMemory – The Conversation2019-05-09T10:35:03Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1131642019-05-09T10:35:03Z2019-05-09T10:35:03ZMisery and memory in Glendora, Mississippi: How poverty is reshaping the story of Emmett Till's murder<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/271100/original/file-20190425-121249-1dtisv7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=496&amp;fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Some say Till&#39;s body was dumped from the Old Black Bayou Bridge in Glendora, Mississippi. Others dispute this detail.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/cmhpictures/4539332897">cmh2315fl/flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In August of 1955, Emmett Till was <a href="https://civilrightstrail.com/experience/sumner/">lynched in the Mississippi Delta</a>. The 14-year-old African American reportedly whistled at a white woman, violating the racial norms of the Jim Crow South. For this supposed infraction, he was abducted, tortured, shot and dropped in a river with a cotton gin fan tied to his neck.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/271203/original/file-20190426-194606-1ct2co1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=237&amp;fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/271203/original/file-20190426-194606-1ct2co1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=810&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/271203/original/file-20190426-194606-1ct2co1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=810&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/271203/original/file-20190426-194606-1ct2co1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=810&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/271203/original/file-20190426-194606-1ct2co1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=1017&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/271203/original/file-20190426-194606-1ct2co1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=1017&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/271203/original/file-20190426-194606-1ct2co1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=1017&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">A portrait of Emmett Till, Christmas 1954.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Associated-Press-Domestic-News-Illinois-United-/3ad34d4268e4da11af9f0014c2589dfb/1/0">AP Photo</a></span>
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<p>Yet for 49 years and 11 months, his murder was all but forgotten in the Delta – the first memorial to Till wasn’t dedicated until July 1, 2005. </p>
<p>Since then, however, the region has witnessed an unprecedented “memory boom.” More than US$4 million has been invested in dozens of roadside markers, a museum, two restored buildings, an interpretive center, a walking park and a community building.</p>
<p>But many details of what happened to Till on that fateful night remain murky, and the abrupt investment in his memory raises a series of questions. Who gets to tell this racially charged story? Who gets to decide what, exactly, happened? And what’s motivating the construction of these memorials? </p>
<p>My just-published book, “<a href="https://www.press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/R/bo28300786.html">Remembering Emmett Till</a>,” addresses these questions head on. It suggests that as Till’s story has been passed down through the generations and taken up by a range of memorials, its plot has been shaped by forces like poverty as much as by fidelity to historical fact.</p>
<p>This is nowhere more conspicuous than in the village of Glendora, a small community 150 miles south of Memphis, in the heart of the Mississippi Delta. Beset by poverty, the village clings desperately to a version of Till’s story that few others seem to believe.</p>
<h2>A community mired in poverty</h2>
<p>Glendora is saturated with memorials. The tiny town of five streets boasts 18 signs dedicated to the memory of Emmett Till’s 1955 murder. In addition, Glendora is also home to the <a href="https://glendorams.com/">Emmett Till Historic Intrepid Center</a>, a Till-themed park and the Black Bayou Bridge – a long-decommissioned bridge recently explored in a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/02/20/us/emmett-till-murder-legacy.html">New York Times article</a> as the site from which Till’s body may have been dropped in the water. </p>
<p>Glendora is also marked by breathtaking poverty. In an application for federal assistance, town officials noted that the Glendora median household income is 70% below the state average, 68% of families live below the poverty line, and just 18% of the adults have earned a high school education. <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=i4Y-DwAAQBAJ&amp;printsec=frontcover&amp;dq=stone+of+hope+google+books+thomas&amp;hl=en&amp;sa=X&amp;ved=0ahUKEwiiqd3RzIziAhVkm-AKHROmC2gQ6AEIKjAA#v=onepage&amp;q&amp;f=false">According to numbers published by Glendora Mayor Johnny B. Thomas in 2017</a>, 86% of children in the village live below the poverty line. Partners in Development, a nonprofit committed to helping the poorest of the poor, has chosen to focus on Haiti, Guatemala and <a href="http://www.pidonline.org">Glendora, Mississippi</a>.</p>
<p>The Glendora version of Till’s story is unique on two counts. </p>
<p>First, while virtually every 20th-century history of Till’s murder suggests that the murderers dropped the body in the Tallahatchie River, the commemorative work in Glendora suggests that Till was dropped into a tributary known as the Black Bayou from a bridge on the south side of Glendora. According to this account, the bayou then carried Till’s body for three miles to the Tallahatchie River, where it was recovered. </p>
<p>Second, while no historian has been able to say with certainty where the murderers obtained the fan they used to weigh down Till’s corpse, the Glendora museum claims that the fan was stolen from the Glendora Cotton Gin, presumably by Elmer Kimbell, a gin employee and the next-door neighbor of <a href="https://vault.fbi.gov/Emmett%20Till%20/Emmett%20Till%20Part%2001%20of%2002/view">confessed murderer J. W. Milam</a>. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/271078/original/file-20190425-121224-14bzoh5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/271078/original/file-20190425-121224-14bzoh5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=448&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/271078/original/file-20190425-121224-14bzoh5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=448&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/271078/original/file-20190425-121224-14bzoh5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=448&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/271078/original/file-20190425-121224-14bzoh5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=563&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/271078/original/file-20190425-121224-14bzoh5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=563&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/271078/original/file-20190425-121224-14bzoh5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=563&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">The building that once housed the Glendora Cotton Gin is now the Emmett Till Historic Intrepid Center, the only museum in the world entirely dedicated to Till’s murder.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://i.pinimg.com/originals/43/7f/5e/437f5eefc2dff68f7d71ad8feca01862.jpg">Pinterest</a></span>
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<h2>Disputed details</h2>
<p>While these variations on the finer points of Till’s story may seem like minutiae, to Glendora residents they are matters so weighty that it sometimes seems as if the very future of the town hinges on where Till’s body was dropped in the water and what fan weighed it down. </p>
<p>In 2010, the <a href="https://www.mississippi.org/">Mississippi Development Authority</a> sent a team of economic development experts to Glendora. Their charge was to devise a plan to rescue the town from poverty – a tall order.</p>
<p>The team struggled to find solutions. Aside from the unrealistic suggestion that the town turn the snake-infested land along the bayou into “riverfront property,” the development authority’s only other proposal was that Glendora capitalize on its connection to the Till murder. More commemoration, they said, would bring tourists; tourism would beget economic development.</p>
<p>The viability of this suggestion, of course, turned on a version of Till’s story that maximized the relevance of Glendora. None of this was news to <a href="https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2005-jul-30-na-johnny30-story.html">Mayor Thomas</a>. Since at least 2005, he had been promoting a Glendora-centric narrative of the murder in which Till’s body was dropped in the Black Bayou tied with a fan from the local gin. </p>
<p>While plausible, these claims are difficult to prove. One key authority has refuted them: <a href="http://www.mdah.ms.gov/new/">the Mississippi Department of Archives and History</a>.</p>
<p>The state agency has invested more funds into Till’s commemoration than any other organization. </p>
<p>It restored the <a href="https://civilrightstrail.com/destination/sumner/">Tallahatchie County Courthouse</a>, the site of the Till trial, and even invested $200,000 in the controversial restoration of <a href="https://muse.jhu.edu/article/675643">Ben Roy’s Service Station</a> in Money, Mississippi. Although the service station sits just 67 feet south of Bryant’s Grocery and Meat Market, the site of Till’s alleged whistle, it played no role in the Till murder, aside from unverified claims that customers discussed the murder from the porch.</p>
<p>The agency, however, is not convinced that Till’s body was dropped from the Black Bayou Bridge. Nor does the organization believe that the fan was stolen from the local gin. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/271200/original/file-20190426-194637-1o4a9v7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/271200/original/file-20190426-194637-1o4a9v7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=478&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/271200/original/file-20190426-194637-1o4a9v7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=478&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/271200/original/file-20190426-194637-1o4a9v7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=478&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/271200/original/file-20190426-194637-1o4a9v7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=601&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/271200/original/file-20190426-194637-1o4a9v7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=601&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/271200/original/file-20190426-194637-1o4a9v7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=601&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">A cotton gin fan is presented as evidence in the trial. Its origins remain a point of contention.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Associated-Press-Domestic-News-Mississippi-Unit-/b122a52368e4da11af9f0014c2589dfb/24/0">AP Photo</a></span>
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<p>In fact, the agency has, in its files, a five-page “<a href="https://cdn.theconversation.com/static_files/files/588/Summary_of_Research.pdf?1557325145">Summary of Research</a>” that’s dedicated to the contested veracity of these two claims. The document finds neither claim verifiable and has thus rejected every grant application the town has ever submitted. </p>
<p>Mayor Thomas has one state agency telling him to lean hard into Till’s story and another rejecting his every attempt to do so.</p>
<h2>The mayor gets creative</h2>
<p>Without the backing of the Mississippi Department of Archives and History, Thomas has nonetheless been able to erect tributes to Till’s legacy.</p>
<p>The work began on Sept. 27, 2005. On that day, the United States Department of Agriculture awarded a Community Connect Broadband Grant to Glendora. <a href="https://cdn.theconversation.com/static_files/files/589/USDA.pdf?1557325418">Funded at $325,405</a>, the grant was intended to bring broadband connectivity to Glendora.</p>
<p>After obtaining the grant, Thomas used the USDA money <a href="https://cdn.theconversation.com/static_files/files/592/USDA.pdf?1557325734">to convert the old cotton gin</a> into a community computer lab with internet access. <a href="https://cdn.theconversation.com/static_files/files/591/MCRH_Grant_Application.pdf?1557325519">But he also used some of the funds</a> to construct the world’s first Emmett Till museum – <a href="https://civilrightstrail.com/attraction/emmett-till-historic-intrepid-center/">the Emmett Till Historic Intrepid Center</a> – which was also located in the gin. Although the USDA approved the expenses, it is unclear whether they knew that their money was being used to build a museum. In the 647 pages of records preserved by the USDA – including the application, labor contracts, invoices and correspondence – Emmett Till isn’t mentioned once.</p>
<p>After the grant ran out, Glendora couldn’t pay the bills and internet service was discontinued. It has not resumed. The museum, on the other hand, is still in operation and visitors do occasionally stop in, though the majority of tourists go to <a href="https://www.emmett-till.org/">Sumner</a>, a town 12 miles north of Glendora and the site of the trial. </p>
<p>While the museum was initially funded by the USDA, it is maintained on a day-to-day basis by the Glendora Economic and Community Development Corporation, a 501(c)3 founded by Thomas. The town has assigned most, if not all, public business to the nonprofit. Glendora’s development corporation pays city workers, operates 24 Section 8 apartments and operates the Till museum. According to <a href="https://www.guidestar.org/">public records</a>, the public housing funnels about $100,000 a year of federal HUD money into the nonprofit. With this money, the nonprofit maintains the apartments, pays city workers and, critically, subsidizes the Till museum. </p>
<p>Yet the questions remain unanswered: Was Emmett Till actually dropped from the Black Bayou Bridge? Was the fan stolen from the local gin? Was Elmer Kimbell involved? </p>
<p>Perhaps. But it is impossible to separate the veracity of these claims from the poverty of the townspeople. Thomas has been able to leverage the town’s poverty to support the museum; the museum, in turn, supports Glendora’s plausible-but-unverifiable theories of Till’s murder. Had Glendora been wealthy, there’d be little incentive to stick so adamantly to this version of the story. The Black Bayou Bridge would be lost to memory and Elmer Kimbell would rarely appear in the stories of Till’s final night.</p>
<p>But Glendora is not wealthy. Instead, sustained by the poverty of the town, stories about Kimbell, the Glendora Cotton Gin and the Black Bayou Bridge continue to circulate – <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/21/us/remembering-emmett-till-legacy-virtual-reality.html?login=smartlock&amp;auth=login-smartlock">sometimes from the highest echelons of media</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/113164/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dave Tell wrote this article with support of the National Endowment for the Humanities. </span></em></p>Scholars continue to debate what, exactly, happened to Emmett Till the morning of his murder. But that hasn't stopped a poor Mississippi community from trying to profit off one version of the story.Dave Tell, Professor of Communication, University of KansasLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1135512019-03-25T06:57:55Z2019-03-25T06:57:55ZHealth check: can eating certain foods make you smarter?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/265493/original/file-20190325-36273-au864m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=496&amp;fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Green vegetables, nuts and berries are among the foods that could improve our brain function.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">From shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Trying to keep up with what constitutes a “healthy” diet can be exhausting. With unending options at the supermarket, and diet advice coming from all directions, filling your shopping trolley with the right things can seem an overwhelming task.</p>
<p>For a long time we’ve known diet is key to maintaining <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0140673618322256">physical health</a>.</p>
<p>But <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2215036614000510">emerging evidence</a> indicates diet quality also plays a critical role in our cognitive function.</p>
<p>We’re learning some of the best things to eat in this regard include vegetables, nuts and berries, foods containing “good fats” and, possibly, fermented foods.</p>
<p>As well as potentially improving our brain function, eating these sorts of foods could improve our mental well-being – and could even help the planet, too.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="http://theconversation.com/research-check-does-eating-chocolate-improve-your-brain-function-55229">Research Check: does eating chocolate improve your brain function?</a>
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<h2>Diet and brain function</h2>
<p>In the face of <a href="https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/burden-of-disease/impact-of-overweight-and-obesity-as-a-risk-factor-for-chronic-conditions/contents/table-of-contents">rising obesity rates</a>, over the past couple of decades, researchers have questioned whether increased weight, or poor diet, could influence cognition. They have since looked at what sorts of diets might impair or improve the function of our brains.</p>
<p>Long term follow-up studies show obesity is associated with <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28504110">mild impairments</a> in several domains of cognitive function, including short-term memory, attention and decision-making. </p>
<p>Research has also shown <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22023100">short-term memory is poorer</a> in people who report eating more saturated fat and sugar.</p>
<p>Conversely, the Mediterranean diet has been associated with <a href="http://europepmc.org/abstract/med/28011241">better brain health</a> and maintenance of cognitive abilities into older age. A Mediterranean diet is based on vegetables, whole grains, legumes and nuts, with healthy fats such as olive oil. Intake of red meat, saturated fats and sugar is limited.</p>
<p>A healthy diet has many elements, so let’s look at what particular foods might explain these benefits.</p>
<h2>Vegetables, nuts and berries</h2>
<p>Evidence indicates eating more vegetables <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0531556516306064">slows the gradual decline</a> in cognitive abilities that occurs naturally as we age.</p>
<p>While all veggies are likely to contribute, those in the cruciferous (Brassicaceae) family <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15852398">may confer particular benefits</a> through their high fibre, folate, potassium and vitamin content. Vegetables in this family include broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, and fad favourites kale and rocket.</p>
<p>Interestingly, while there’s good evidence for the protective role of vegetables, there’s less evidence when it comes to fruit.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/265496/original/file-20190325-36248-1by8quw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/265496/original/file-20190325-36248-1by8quw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=400&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/265496/original/file-20190325-36248-1by8quw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=400&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/265496/original/file-20190325-36248-1by8quw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=400&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/265496/original/file-20190325-36248-1by8quw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=503&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/265496/original/file-20190325-36248-1by8quw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=503&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/265496/original/file-20190325-36248-1by8quw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=503&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Research has shown a healthy diet can improve cognitive functions such as learning and memory.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">From shutterstock.com</span></span>
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<p>Berries, though, contain high levels of antioxidants. These compounds protect the body by scavenging harmful free radicals and reducing inflammation. Together these functions are likely to protect our cognitive ability.</p>
<p>Studies in rats, and in older people with mild cognitive impairment, indicate supplementing diets with berries <a href="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/jf2036033">improves performance in various memory tasks</a>.</p>
<p>Nuts, meanwhile, are excellent sources of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, minerals and vitamins. <a href="https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/article/100/suppl_1/347S/4576446">Studies in animals</a> have shown the addition of nuts improves learning and memory. <a href="https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/article/100/suppl_1/347S/4576446">Emerging evidence in humans</a> suggests consuming nuts within a Mediterranean-style diet improves measures of cognition, such as the capacity for verbal reasoning.</p>
<h2>Healthy fats</h2>
<p>Healthy diets such as the Mediterranean diet are also characterised by foods such as oily fish, avocados, olive oil and small amounts of animal-derived fats (such as from red meat).</p>
<p>One of <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27448745">our experiments</a> in rats showed diets high in saturated fat from lard or high in sugar led to memory impairments, whereas an oil-based diet high in polyunsaturated fats didn’t.</p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="http://theconversation.com/food-as-medicine-your-brain-really-does-want-you-to-eat-more-veggies-74685">Food as medicine: your brain really does want you to eat more veggies</a>
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<p>Importantly, rats fed these different diets <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27448745">did not differ</a> in their total energy intake – only the type of fat and sugar varied.</p>
<p>While we can’t comment directly on the effects in humans, these findings suggest eating excess sugar, or animal-based fats, may negatively impact cognition.</p>
<h2>Fermented foods</h2>
<p>For thousands of years humans have prolonged the life of foods through fermentation, which increases the proportion of <em>Lactobacillus</em> and other healthy gut bacteria.</p>
<p>Kombucha and kefir are trendy right now, but other popular fermented foods include kimchi, miso, yoghurt and sauerkraut. Intake of these foods is thought to maintain the diversity of the gut microbiome.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="http://theconversation.com/health-check-will-eating-nuts-make-you-gain-weight-108491">Health check: will eating nuts make you gain weight?</a>
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<p>Interest in the potential cognitive effects of fermented foods stems from <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1364661318300974">emerging evidence</a> for the importance of the gut microbiota in cognition and health.</p>
<p>It’s well known that a poor diet can <a href="https://theconversation.com/fat-or-thin-can-the-bacteria-in-our-gut-affect-our-eating-habits-and-weight-65103">reduce the diversity</a> of the gut microbiome. Our work in rats has shown the cognitive impairments produced by exposure to an <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28289278">unhealthy “cafeteria” diet</a> – a Western-style diet high in saturated fat and sugar – are linked to changes in the gut microbiome. </p>
<h2>Beyond cognition</h2>
<p>It’s not possible to attribute “miracle” properties to one food group alone. We suggest a balanced, varied diet is the best approach to sustain not only brain health, but heart health too.</p>
<p>And there may be other reasons to seek out these foods. A <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953618306907">newly published study</a> showed eating fruit and vegetables improved mental well-being. Subjects tended to feel happier, less worried, and reported higher levels of overall life satisfaction.</p>
<p>The link between diet quality and better mental health is <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26359904">now well-established</a>.</p>
<p>The recently published <a href="https://eatforum.org/eat-lancet-commission/">EAT-Lancet report</a> adds a further compelling reason to eat healthily: the environment. This commission argued for a <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30660336">“planetary health” diet</a> – akin to the Mediterranean diet – consisting of whole grains, vegetables, fruits, nuts and dairy, healthy fats, with low animal protein and few processed foods.</p>
<p>It is thought that shifting to such a diet, together with reducing food waste and adopting more sustainable food production systems, will minimise environmental damage and safeguard individual health. </p>
<p>The central message is the health of individuals and of the planet are inextricably linked, and this requires a rethink of global food systems.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="http://theconversation.com/want-to-improve-your-mood-its-time-to-ditch-the-junk-food-107358">Want to improve your mood? It's time to ditch the junk food</a>
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<p>Overhauling food systems – and individual food habits – will not be simple while foods high in fat and sugar are so readily available and relatively cheap.</p>
<p>Nonetheless, recognising that eating well might benefit the planet, as well as the body and brain, might motivate people to change their dietary habits.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/113551/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Margaret Morris receives funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council, Australia and Australian Research Council and she is affiliated with Nutrition Australia. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michael Kendig has received funding from the Ian Potter Foundation.</span></em></p>We pick healthy foods to look after our bodies, but research shows certain healthy choices can also benefit our brains.Margaret Morris, Professor of Pharmacology, Head of Pharmacology, UNSWMichael Kendig, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, UNSWLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1132692019-03-14T19:05:21Z2019-03-14T19:05:21ZWhat do we mean by meaning? Science can help with that<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/263808/original/file-20190314-28499-x0tfao.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;rect=0%2C0%2C3450%2C1836&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=496&amp;fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">One way to see the value of meaning is to share information and cooperate with others.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Mario Purisic/Unsplash</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Most of us want our lives to have <a href="https://theconversation.com/having-a-sense-of-meaning-in-life-is-good-for-you-so-how-do-you-get-one-110361">meaning</a>. But what do we mean by meaning? What is meaning?</p>
<p>These sound like spiritual or philosophical questions, but surprisingly science may be able to provide some answers.</p>
<p>It might not seem like the kind of thing that can be tackled using the detached and impersonal methods of science. But by framing the right questions, researchers in language, cognitive science, primatology and artificial intelligence can make some progress.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="http://theconversation.com/careful-how-you-treat-todays-ai-it-might-take-revenge-in-the-future-112611">Careful how you treat today's AI: it might take revenge in the future</a>
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<p>Questions include:</p>
<ul>
<li>how do words or symbols convey meaning?</li>
<li>how does our brain sort out meaningful information from meaningless information?</li>
</ul>
<p>These are certainly difficult questions, but they’re not unscientific.</p>
<h2>Mind your language</h2>
<p>Take human language. What distinguishes it from communication used by other animals such as the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2011/jul/24/project-nim-chimpsky-chimpanzee-language">sign language we can teach to chimpanzees</a>, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/birdsong-animal-communication">bird calls</a> and the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/apr/03/honeybees-fly-further-in-summer-to-find-food-study-shows">pollen dances performed by bees</a>? </p>
<p>One factor is the systems used by other animals are basically linear: the meaning of each symbol is modified only by the one immediately before it or after it. </p>
<p>For example, here’s a phrase in chimpanzee sign language:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>give banana eat.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>That’s as complicated as phrases get for chimps. The third word is distinct from the first, only joined by the second.</p>
<p>But in a standard sentence from <em>any</em> human language, the words at the end of a sentence can modify the meaning of those back at the start.</p>
<p>Try this:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The banana in the fruit bowl tastes good.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The fruit bowl doesn’t taste good even though those words are adjacent. </p>
<p>We effortlessly sort out the meaning in sentences based on hierarchies, so that phrases can be nested in other phrases and it doesn’t cause any problems (<a href="http://mentalfloss.com/article/49238/7-sentences-sound-crazy-are-still-grammatical" title="7 Sentences That Sound Crazy But Are Still Grammatical">most of the time</a>).</p>
<p>Did you ever have to diagram a sentence while learning grammar in school? A sentence of human language has to be diagrammed in a tree-like structure. This structure reflects the hierarchies embedded in the language.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/263795/original/file-20190314-123538-hkex71.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/263795/original/file-20190314-123538-hkex71.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/263795/original/file-20190314-123538-hkex71.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=315&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/263795/original/file-20190314-123538-hkex71.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=315&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/263795/original/file-20190314-123538-hkex71.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=315&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/263795/original/file-20190314-123538-hkex71.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=395&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/263795/original/file-20190314-123538-hkex71.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=395&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/263795/original/file-20190314-123538-hkex71.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=395&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Simplified tree diagram of an English sentence.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jamie Freestone</span></span>
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<p>Cognitive scientist W. Tecumseh Fitch, an expert in the evolution of human language, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S157106451400058X" title="Toward a computational framework for cognitive biology: Unifying approaches from cognitive neuroscience and comparative cognition">says</a> what separates humans from other species is our ability to interpret things in a tree-like structure.</p>
<p>Our brains are built to group things and to arrange them into hierarchies, and not just in grammar. This opens up a whole universe of meanings that we are able to extract from language and other sources of information.</p>
<p>But complex structure isn’t all there is to meaning. If you’ve seen any computer programming you know that computers can also handle this kind of complex grammar. That doesn’t mean computers find it meaningful.</p>
<p>Research into human brains is trying to find out how we find information <em>significant</em>. We attach emotional and semantic weight to the utterances we speak and hear. The neuroscience of working memory may hold some clues. </p>
<h2>A memory of that</h2>
<p>We need working memory to pay attention to those long sentences that have the complex grammar described above. </p>
<p>Working memory also helps us knit together the experience of waking life, moment to moment. We experience a vivid and comprehensible stream of consciousness, rather than staccato flashes of action.</p>
<p>One of the leading researchers in this area is the French neuroscientist <a href="https://www.college-de-france.fr/site/en-stanislas-dehaene/">Stanislas Dehaene</a>. In his 2014 book <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Consciousness-Brain-Deciphering-Codes-Thoughts/dp/0143126261/">Consciousness and the Brain: Deciphering How the Brain Codes Our Thoughts</a>, he advocates what’s known as the <a href="http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780198569510.001.0001/acref-9780198569510-e-159">global workspace theory</a></p>
<p>When something really grabs our attention, it’s elevated from being dealt with by unconscious, localised brain processes to the global workspace. This is a metaphorical “space” in the brain, where important signals are broadcast throughout the cortex.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="http://theconversation.com/working-memory-how-you-keep-things-in-mind-over-the-short-term-75960">Working memory: How you keep things 'in mind' over the short term</a>
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<p>Roughly speaking, if a signal doesn’t get amplified to the global workspace then it stays local and our brains deal with it unconsciously. If information gets to the global workspace then we’re conscious of it.</p>
<p>Information from different sensory inputs — vision, hearing, touch — then gets put together to form an overall interpretation of what’s happening and how it’s meaningful to us.</p>
<h2>Working together</h2>
<p>Moving beyond an individual’s brain, a lot of work has been done in terms of social cognition. That is, how humans are particularly good at thinking together and cooperating. </p>
<p>Obviously that goes hand in hand with our more complex language. But there are other abilities that seem to have evolved alongside language that are also unique to humans and crucial for cooperation.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.eva.mpg.de/psycho/staff/tomas/">Michael Tomasello</a>, director of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Germany, has been studying chimps side by side with human infants for 25 years. </p>
<p>He emphasises the role of <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1467-7687.2007.00573.x" title="Shared intentionality">shared intentionality</a>. From about age three, and unlike apes, human infants can easily, even wordlessly, cooperate on simple tasks. </p>
<p>To do so they have to monitor their own actions, the action of others, and both their actions in light of a shared goal or set of expectations.</p>
<p>This might not seem like a staggering result. But Tomasello argues this is essentially the <a href="https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/full/10.1146/annurev-psych-113011-143812" title="Origins of Human Cooperation and Morality">origin of human morality</a>. By adopting the perspective of shared intentionality, humans evolved norms or conventions that shape our shared behaviour.</p>
<p>This perspective allows us to evaluate actions and behaviour in broader terms than simply whether or not it provides some instant reward. Hence we can judge things as meaningful or not according to norms, values, morals. </p>
<h2>But what does it all mean?</h2>
<p>So complex grammar, working memory and cooperation are just three areas of research out of dozens that are relevant. But researchers from various disciplines are zeroing in on what meaning is at a very fundamental level.</p>
<p>It seems to be about the complexity of information, integrating information over longer periods of time and sharing information with others.</p>
<p>That might sound remote from questions like, “How do I make my life meaningful?” But the science does actually line up with the self-help books on this score. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="http://theconversation.com/having-a-sense-of-meaning-in-life-is-good-for-you-so-how-do-you-get-one-110361">Having a sense of meaning in life is good for you – so how do you get one?</a>
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<p>The gurus say that if you can find some alignment in your past, present and future selves (integrating information over time) you’ll feel your life has meaning.</p>
<p>They also tell you it’s very important to be socially connected rather than isolated. Translation: share information and cooperate with others.</p>
<p>It’s not that science can tell us what the meaning of life is. But it can tell us how our brains find things meaningful and why we evolved to do so.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/113269/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jamie Freestone does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The self-help books are full of advice on how to get meaning in life, but it helps to understand what meaning actually is. Science may be able to provide some answers.Jamie Freestone, PhD student in literature and science communication, The University of QueenslandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1101372019-01-27T01:22:03Z2019-01-27T01:22:03ZHow will generations that didn't experience the Holocaust remember it?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/255636/original/file-20190125-108367-1e9buh8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=496&amp;fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Childhood Holocaust survivors Simon Gronowski and Alice Gerstel Weit touring the Los Angeles Holocaust Museum.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Holocaust-Survivors-Reunion/26adb791d9684a329ee1dae2328ee23e/23/0">AP Photo/Reed Saxon</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The Soviet Red Army liberated the most notorious of the Nazi death camps, Auschwitz-Birkenau, on Jan. 27, 1945.</p>
<p>This year, the United Nations and 39 countries will commemorate that date with <a href="https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/international-holocaust-remembrance-day">International Holocaust Remembrance Day</a>. </p>
<p>This date acknowledges the victims and survivors of the Holocaust. But, as a <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?view_op=list_works&amp;hl=en&amp;user=YQoXcIcAAAAJ">Jewish studies scholar</a>, I have found it also reveals how traumatic memory works in the present and can serve as a reminder about the need for collective action. </p>
<h2>Remembering past crimes</h2>
<p>The United Nations memorial day connects Holocaust memory to issues in the present. </p>
<p>Since 2010, <a href="https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/international-holocaust-remembrance-day">the United Nations has set specific themes</a> to not only remember past crimes, but prevent future ones. For example, the central theme of 2010 was about Holocaust survivors and what future generations can learn from them. </p>
<p>As the world confronts more <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/01/prosecute-myanmar-army-chief-rohingya-genocide-envoy-190125112535665.html">crimes against humanity</a>, <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-36130006">growing nationalism</a> and <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2019/01/european-union-golden-visas-wealthy/581074/">global refugee crises</a>, keeping the memory of the Holocaust has become increasingly important because it can bring awareness to contemporary atrocities. </p>
<p>In recent years, the focus of the United Nations has ranged from issues such as violence against women and children to increasing tolerance. Last year, the day specifically explored the theme of shared responsibility. The day has also been used to speak about the unprecedented refugee crises in other parts of the world, such as the <a href="https://www.ushmm.org/confront-genocide/cases/syria/introduction/syria">attacks on civilians in Syria</a>.</p>
<p>Sociologist <a href="https://sociology.yale.edu/people/jeffrey-alexander">Jeffrey Alexander</a> says the memory of these events provides <a href="https://sociology.yale.edu/publications/trauma-social-theory">lessons for the future</a>. The very act of remembering brings these events into the present and makes them relevant to our own times.</p>
<h2>Intergenerational memory</h2>
<p>My research looks at how traumatic memory is transmitted down through the generations. </p>
<p>Scholar <a href="http://blogs.cuit.columbia.edu/mh2349/">Marianne Hirsch</a> shows in her “postmemory” work how trauma is transmitted to the children of survivors. These memories are transmitted so deeply that they become the <a href="http://cup.columbia.edu/book/the-generation-of-postmemory/9780231156530">memories of the second generation</a> themselves. </p>
<p>According to Hirsch, descendants of survivors may “remember” past trauma though stories, mannerisms and images. She looks at traumatic memories being transferred through fiction, art, memoir and testimony. An example of this postmemory art is American novelist Art Spiegelman’s <a href="https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Complete_Maus.html?id=ASajL1zsziAC">“Maus</a>.”</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/255638/original/file-20190125-108351-mr8bl5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/255638/original/file-20190125-108351-mr8bl5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=407&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/255638/original/file-20190125-108351-mr8bl5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=407&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/255638/original/file-20190125-108351-mr8bl5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=407&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/255638/original/file-20190125-108351-mr8bl5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=511&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/255638/original/file-20190125-108351-mr8bl5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=511&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/255638/original/file-20190125-108351-mr8bl5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=511&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Holocaust survivor Sarah Modern Irom looks at an old photograph in her home in Tulsa, Oklahoma.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/What-The-Children-Remember/964872a0a0e04886bd47f676a3a4c2f0/60/0">AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki</a></span>
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<p>In this graphic novel, Spiegelman represents his father’s memories of the Holocaust. He does this by capturing both his and his father’s stories. Spiegelman’s present is <a href="http://cup.columbia.edu/book/the-generation-of-postmemory/9780231156530">dominated by events that preceded his birth</a>. This deep personal connection explains how postmemory works. </p>
<h2>Remembering matters</h2>
<p>As Holocaust survivors age, the challenge will be to keep this intergenerational memory. Once the survivors of Holocaust pass on, who will tell their stories?</p>
<p>To prevent the loss of survivors’ testimony, it has been documented and cataloged by several museums and foundations such as the <a href="https://www.ushmm.org/">United States Holocaust Memorial Museum</a>, the <a href="https://sfi.usc.edu/">USC Shoah Foundation</a>, <a href="https://fortunoff.library.yale.edu/">Yale University’s Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies</a> and others.</p>
<p>The act of remembering matters for what it tells us about the past – and about the present.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/110137/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Timothy Langille does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Memory is traumatic but also important in Holocaust remembrance. It also serves a critical role in providing lessons for the future.Timothy Langille, Lecturer, Arizona State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1097132019-01-14T18:02:07Z2019-01-14T18:02:07ZMemories of eating influence your next meal – new research pinpoints brain cells involved<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/253726/original/file-20190114-43510-1dop2jn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;rect=313%2C364%2C4093%2C2811&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=496&amp;fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">What you had before sways what you eat next time – but only if you remember.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/dirty-square-plate-fork-1016514409">MaxSokolov/Shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Of course you know that eating is vital to your survival, but have you ever thought about how your brain controls how much you eat, when you eat and what you eat?</p>
<p>This is not a trivial question, because <a href="https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/health-statistics/overweight-obesity">two-thirds of Americans</a> are either overweight <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/adult.html">or obese</a> and overeating is a major cause of this epidemic. To date, the scientific effort to understand how the brain controls eating has focused primarily on brain areas involved in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1053/j.gastro.2016.12.050">hunger, fullness and pleasure</a>. To be better armed in the fight against obesity, neuroscientists, <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=OZfbgjkAAAAJ&amp;hl=en&amp;oi=ao">including me</a>, are starting to expand our investigation to other parts of the brain associated with different functions. My lab’s recent research focuses on one that’s been relatively overlooked: memory.</p>
<p>For many people, decisions about whether to eat now, what to eat and how much to eat are often influenced by memories of what they ate recently. For instance, in addition to my scale and tight clothes, my memory of overeating pizza yesterday played a pivotal role in my decision to eat salad for lunch today.</p>
<p>Memories of recently eaten foods can serve as a powerful mechanism for controlling eating behavior because they provide you with a record of your recent intake that likely outlasts most of the hormonal and brain signals generated by your meal. But surprisingly, the brain regions that allow memory to control future eating behavior are largely unknown. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/253729/original/file-20190114-43529-15pxwar.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/253729/original/file-20190114-43529-15pxwar.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/253729/original/file-20190114-43529-15pxwar.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=400&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253729/original/file-20190114-43529-15pxwar.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=400&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253729/original/file-20190114-43529-15pxwar.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=400&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253729/original/file-20190114-43529-15pxwar.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=503&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253729/original/file-20190114-43529-15pxwar.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=503&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253729/original/file-20190114-43529-15pxwar.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=503&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Distraction by TV or video games now can lead to overeating later on.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/close-young-african-woman-holding-tv-1122437207">Dean Drobot/Shutterstock.com</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Memories of last meal influence the next</h2>
<p>Studies done in people support the idea that meal-related memory can control future eating behavior.</p>
<p>When researchers impair the memory of a meal by distracting healthy participants while they eat – such as by having them play computer games or watch television – <a href="https://doi.org/10.3945/ajcn.112.045245">people eat more at the next opportunity</a>. The opposite is also true: enhancing meal-related memory by having people reflect on what they just ate decreases future intake.</p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9280.2008.02132.x">Patients suffering from amnesia</a> do not remember eating and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9280.00073">will eat when presented with food</a>, even if they have just eaten and should feel full. And memory deficits are associated with <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/17470218.2015.1099163">overeating and increased weight</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2017.05.011">in relatively healthy people</a>.</p>
<p>So what’s going on? We all know that we don’t eat just because we’re hungry. Most of our decisions about eating are influenced by a myriad of other influences that have nothing to do with how hungry or full we are, such as time of day, the sight and smell of food, or an advertisement for a favorite restaurant. My lab has chosen to focus on memory, in part, because it is something that is adaptable and more within our control. </p>
<p>We’ve started our search by focusing on a brain region called the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hippocampus">hippocampus</a>, which is absolutely vital for personal memories of what, where and when something happened to you.</p>
<p>Interestingly, hippocampal cells receive signals about hunger status and are connected to other brain areas that are important for starting and stopping eating, <a href="https://theconversation.com/chemical-messengers-how-hormones-make-us-feel-hungry-and-full-35545">such as the hypothalamus</a>. My colleagues and I reasoned that if hippocampal-dependent memory inhibits future eating, then disrupting hippocampal function after a meal is eaten, when the memory of the meal is being stabilized, should promote eating later on when these cells are functioning normally.</p>
<h2>Effect of turning neurons off, then back on</h2>
<p>In my lab, we <a href="https://doi.org/10.1523/ENEURO.0457-18.2018">tested this prediction</a> using <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/optogenetics-controlling/">optogenetics</a>. This state-of-the-art method uses light to control individual cells in a behaving animal. We were able to inhibit hippocampal cells for 10 minutes before, during or after rats ate a meal.</p>
<p>To do this, we inserted a specific gene into hippocampal cells that caused these cells to immediately stop functioning as soon as we shined light of a certain wavelength on them. The cells remained inactive as long as we shined the light. Crucially, their function returned to normal as soon as we turned the light off.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/253680/original/file-20190114-43538-5h45ol.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/253680/original/file-20190114-43538-5h45ol.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/253680/original/file-20190114-43538-5h45ol.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=338&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253680/original/file-20190114-43538-5h45ol.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=338&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253680/original/file-20190114-43538-5h45ol.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=338&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253680/original/file-20190114-43538-5h45ol.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=425&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253680/original/file-20190114-43538-5h45ol.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=425&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253680/original/file-20190114-43538-5h45ol.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=425&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Area of the hippocampus in a rat’s brain controlled during the study. The front of the animal’s brain is on the left.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://doi.org/10.1523/ENEURO.0457-18.2018">Hannapel et al., eNeuro (2019)</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We discovered that optogenetically inhibiting hippocampal cells after rats ate a meal caused the animals to eat their next meal sooner and caused them to eat almost twice as much food during that next meal. And remember, the hippocampal cells were working normally by the time the rats ate again. We saw this effect after the intervention whether the rats were offered rodent chow, a sugar solution, or water sweetened with saccharin.</p>
<p>That rats would eat more saccharin after we interfered with their hippocampal function is particularly interesting because saccharin is a noncaloric sweetener that produces very few of the gastrointestinal (GI) chemical signals normally generated by food. We concluded that the effect we saw after inactivating hippocampal cells is most likely explained by an effect on memory consolidation, rather than by an impaired ability to process GI messages. </p>
<p>Thus, our findings show that hippocampal cells are necessary during the period following a meal for limiting future energy intake. We suggest that neurons in the hippocampus inhibit future eating behavior by consolidating the memory of the preceding meal.</p>
<p>These findings have significant implications for understanding the causes of obesity and the ways in which to treat it. Scientists, including <a href="http://sites.gsu.edu/parentlab/">my research group</a> have shown in previous studies that feeding rats too much fat or sugar impairs hippocampal memory. Similarly, overeating and obesity in humans are associated with <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/ijo.2015.106">hippocampal damage</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/17470218.2015.1099163">hippocampal-dependent memory deficits</a>.</p>
<p>Impaired hippocampal functioning, in turn, leads to further overeating and weight gain, leading to a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cobeha.2015.12.001">vicious cycle that may perpetuate obesity</a>. Our research adds to the growing body of evidence that suggests that techniques that promote hippocampal-dependent memories of what, when and how much one eats <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0269881117736917">may prove to be promising strategies</a> for reducing eating and promoting weight loss.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/109713/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Marise Parent receives funding from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).</span></em></p>What you remember of your last meal affects when and how much you eat next time around. Neuroscientists have now identified neurons in the brain's hippocampus that are crucial to this process.Marise Parent, Professor of Neuroscience and Psychology and Associate Director of the Neuroscience Institute, Georgia State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1096742019-01-10T14:15:30Z2019-01-10T14:15:30ZPhilosophy: we obsess about death, so why don't we think more about being born?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/253212/original/file-20190110-32124-1om3sp7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=496&amp;fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Ramona Heim via Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>All human beings begin life by being born – and all human beings die. In these two ways, we are finite: our lives are not endless, but they begin and they come to an end. Historically, however, philosophers have concentrated attention on only one of these two ways in which we are finite: mortality. Philosophers have said little about being born and how it shapes our existence. An exception is some recent work in feminist philosophy, for instance by <a href="https://www.iep.utm.edu/irigaray/">Luce Irigaray</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adriana_Cavarero">Adriana Cavarero</a> – but even here, being born has been overshadowed by giving birth and motherhood.</p>
<p>So how does being born organise human existence? First, let’s clarify that for human beings, to be born is to begin to exist at a certain point in time, and to do so by being conceived and gestated in and then exiting from the womb – historically the maternal womb, although transgender pregnancies are changing this. We thereby come into the world with a specific body, and in a given place, set of relationships and situation in society, culture, and history.</p>
<p>Because of the helplessness of human babies and infants – and children’s prolonged need for nurturing and education – we begin life utterly dependent on the people who care for us physically and emotionally. Often, we become more independent over time, but never completely or permanently so. We all remain dependent on others – in respect of our means of subsistence, language, emotional well-being and basic social trust. Once we remember that we begin life as babies and infants, dependency emerges as more basic than independence – independence takes place against a background of dependence, not vice versa.</p>
<p>Because of our initial dependency, our early relationships with our caregivers have huge formative effects on us. They form our selves: our patterns of emotional reaction, dispositions, habits and traits – and the personalities into which they are organised. None of this is set in stone – we can, of course, be deeply affected and reformed by subsequent relationships. But we are open to new relationships in ways shaped by the previous ones. When we consider birth, then, we see that relationships with others make us the individuals we are – our individual selfhood arises within a background of relationships.</p>
<h2>Me, myself and I</h2>
<p>At birth, each individual comes into a unique situation in the world, made up of a unique combination of historical, social, ethnic, geographical, familial, and generational circumstances. One’s initial natal situation affects every subsequent life situation one comes to be in – including by affecting whatever choices one makes in response to these situations. All one’s successive situations flow down through one’s life, however indirectly, from one’s birth.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/253215/original/file-20190110-32136-yicboq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/253215/original/file-20190110-32136-yicboq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=400&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253215/original/file-20190110-32136-yicboq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=400&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253215/original/file-20190110-32136-yicboq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=400&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253215/original/file-20190110-32136-yicboq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=503&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253215/original/file-20190110-32136-yicboq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=503&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253215/original/file-20190110-32136-yicboq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=503&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">We are each born into our own unique situation.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">sirtravelalot via Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Our natal situations are given to us, not chosen – and as soon as we are born we begin to imbibe the culture around us. So, first and foremost, we are inheritors and receivers of culture and history. We may develop capacities to question, criticise and change what we have received, but this happens on the prior basis of reception. </p>
<p>Why have I been leading the particular life I have, since birth? I may wonder: “Why am I me?” or: “Why is this the life I’m leading and none other?” Eastern and Western religious traditions offer various answers – for example, by referring to our immortal souls as in Christianity, or cycles of rebirth, as in Hinduism. But perhaps my being born me is a fact that cannot be explained, only accepted. </p>
<p>We can explain, at least to a point, why the particular body that I happen to be born with was conceived (my parents met, a particular sperm fertilised a particular egg on a given occasion – and the rest). But that does not explain why this body is the one whose life I happen to be leading and experiencing directly, from the inside. This is just a fact, and because it is inexplicable, a dimension of mystery pervades my existence. That mystery can generate anxiety – one of several forms of birth anxiety. Philosophers (<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/belief/2009/jul/13/heidegger-being-time">Heidegger</a>, for example) have said much about anxiety about death, but being born also presents anxieties and existential difficulties. </p>
<h2>Early days</h2>
<p>It can seem perplexing that I ever arrived in existence having not previously been there. And it can be troubling that we cannot remember being born, or indeed remember early childhood – the phenomenon known as “<a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5473198/">infantile amnesia</a>”. </p>
<p>This amnesia is a consequence of the <a href="https://www.learningrx.com/cognitive-stages-for-child-development.htm">staged development</a> of our memory and cognitive systems during childhood. As we rise to more advanced forms of memory, we lose access to earlier memories laid down in less advanced forms. In turn, our staged cognitive development is a consequence of birth: we are born very immature and unformed but develop, eventually, to reach high levels of cognitive sophistication.</p>
<p>Yet the early years that we forget are the most formative for us. We therefore end up with much of our own emotional lives and reactions as mysteries to us. Why do we fall in and out of love with the people we do? Why does this song move me to tears and leave you cold? Infantile amnesia leaves us strangers to ourselves in important respects – and this is disconcerting.</p>
<p>These are just some features of human existence which are thrown into relief once we remember that we are not only mortal, but also natal. Being born is a fundamental, not a trivial or accidental, feature of human life – and human existence overall has the shape it does because we are born.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/109674/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alison Stone receives a Major Research Fellowship from the Leverhulme Trust to work on the project &#39;Birth and Philosophy&#39;.</span></em></p>Our birth is one of the all-important bookends of our lives and affects so much of what comes later – so why don't we think about it more?Alison Stone, Professor of Philosophy, Lancaster UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1092852019-01-04T14:31:19Z2019-01-04T14:31:19ZOur obsession with taking photos is changing how we remember the past<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/252426/original/file-20190103-32154-iasekp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=496&amp;fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/download/success?u=http%3A%2F%2Fdownload.shutterstock.com%2Fgatekeeper%2FW3siZSI6MTU0NjU2MjE3NiwiYyI6Il9waG90b19zZXNzaW9uX2lkIiwiZGMiOiJpZGxfMTEyMzM2NjA0MCIsImsiOiJwaG90by8xMTIzMzY2MDQwL2h1Z2UuanBnIiwibSI6MSwiZCI6InNodXR0ZXJzdG9jay1tZWRpYSJ9LCIvU1d6azJnYm94d0hWRlhaMWo1cmdvcktnaW8iXQ%2Fshutterstock_1123366040.jpg&amp;pi=33421636&amp;m=1123366040&amp;src=LY7lAPEnUvo9WI3XaavUKA-1-25">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>I recently visited the <a href="http://hermitage--www.hermitagemuseum.org/wps/portal/hermitage/?lng=sv">Hermitage</a> in St Petersburg, Russia – one of the best art museums in the world. I was expecting to serenely experience its masterpieces, but my view was blocked by a wall of smart phones taking pictures of the paintings. And where I could find a bit of empty space, there were people taking selfies to create lasting memories of their visit.</p>
<p>For many people, taking hundreds, if not thousands, of pictures is now a crucial part of going on holiday – documenting every last detail and posting it on social media. But how does that affect our actual memories of the past – and how we view ourselves? As an expert on memory, I was curious. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, psychological research on the topic is so far scant. But we do know a few things. We use smart phones and new technologies <a href="http://studie-life.de/en/life-reports/smart-payments;%20https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Tim_Fawns/publication/275331048_Blended_Memory_the_Changing_Balance_of_Technologically-mediated_Semantic_and_Episodic_Memory/links/56962c6d08ae820ff07594ee.pdf">as memory repositories</a>. This is nothing new – humans have always used external devices as an aid when acquiring knowledge and remembering. </p>
<p>Writing certainly serves this function. Historical records are collective external memories. Testimonies of migrations, settlement or battles help entire nations trace a lineage, a past and an identity. In the life of an individual, written diaries serve a similar function.</p>
<h2>Memory effects</h2>
<p>Nowadays we tend to commit very little to memory – we entrust a huge amount to the cloud. Not only is it almost unheard of to recite poems, even the most personal events are generally recorded on our cellphones. Rather than remembering what we ate at someone’s wedding, we scroll back to look at all the images we took of the food. </p>
<p>This has serious consequences. Taking photos of an event rather than being immersed in it has been shown to lead to <a href="https://theconversation.com/memory-loss-isnt-just-an-old-persons-problem-heres-how-young-people-can-stay-mentally-fit-102352">poorer recall of the actual event</a> – we get distracted in the process.</p>
<p>Relying on photos to remember has a similar effect. Memory needs to be exercised on a regular basis in order to function well. There are many studies documenting the importance of memory retrieval practice – <a href="http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.738.2035&amp;rep=rep1&amp;type=pdf">for example in university students</a>. Memory is and will remain essential for learning. There is indeed some evidence showing that committing almost all knowledge and memories to the cloud <a href="https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/691462">might hinder the ability to remember</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/252251/original/file-20190102-32127-tpgowp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/252251/original/file-20190102-32127-tpgowp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=399&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/252251/original/file-20190102-32127-tpgowp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=399&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/252251/original/file-20190102-32127-tpgowp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=399&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/252251/original/file-20190102-32127-tpgowp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=502&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/252251/original/file-20190102-32127-tpgowp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=502&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/252251/original/file-20190102-32127-tpgowp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=502&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Smile.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/sv/image-photo/girls-smartphone-use-modern-technology-lets-1255804981?src=u8Oz64bxSFwEIH_rcDamEQ-2-39">Just dance/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>However, there is a silver lining. Even if some studies claim that all this makes us more stupid, what happens is actually shifting skills from purely being able to remember to being able to manage the way we remember more efficiently. This is called metacognition, and it is an overarching skill that is also essential for students – for example when planning what and how to study. There is also substantial and reliable evidence that external memories, selfies included, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23957379">can help</a> individuals with memory impairments.</p>
<p>But while photos can in some instances help people to remember, the quality of the memories may be limited. We may remember what something looked like more clearly, but this could be at the expense of other types of information. One study showed that while photos could help people remember what they saw during some event, they <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0956797617694868">reduced their memory of what was said</a>. </p>
<h2>Identity distortions?</h2>
<p>There are some rather profound risks when it comes to personal memory. Our identity is a product of our life experiences, which can be easily accessed through our memories of the past. So, does constant photographic documentation of life experiences alter how we see ourselves? There is no substantial empirical evidence on this yet, but I would speculate that it does. </p>
<p>Too many images are likely to make us remember the past in a fixed way – blocking other memories. While it is <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-is-your-first-memory-and-did-it-ever-really-happen-95953">not uncommon for early childhood memories</a> to be based on photos rather than the actual events, these are not always true memories. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/252252/original/file-20190102-32121-95q417.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/252252/original/file-20190102-32121-95q417.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=400&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/252252/original/file-20190102-32121-95q417.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=400&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/252252/original/file-20190102-32121-95q417.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=400&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/252252/original/file-20190102-32121-95q417.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=502&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/252252/original/file-20190102-32121-95q417.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=502&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/252252/original/file-20190102-32121-95q417.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=502&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Take a couple.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/sv/image-photo/fars-province-shiraz-iran-19-april-725612635?src=LY7lAPEnUvo9WI3XaavUKA-1-67">Grigvovan/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Another issue is the fact that research has uncovered <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0747563216302503;%20http://www.vulture.com/2014/01/history-of-the-selfie.html">a lack of spontaneity in selfies</a> and many other photos. They are planned, the poses are not natural and at times the image of the person is distorted. They also reflect a narcissistic tendency which shapes the face in unnatural mimics – artificial big smiles, sensual pouts, funny faces or offensive gestures.</p>
<p>Importantly, selfies and many other photos are also <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5318447/">public displays</a> of specific attitudes, intentions and stances. In other words, they do not really reflect who we are, they reflect what we want to show to others about ourselves at the moment. If we rely heavily on photos when remembering our past, we may create a distorted self identity based on the image we wanted to promote to others. </p>
<p>That said, our natural memory isn’t actually perfectly accurate. Research shows that we often <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-real-you-is-a-myth-we-constantly-create-false-memories-to-achieve-the-identity-we-want-103253">create false memories about the past</a>. We do this in order to maintain the identity that we want to have over time – and avoid conflicting narratives about who we are. So if you have always been rather soft and kind – but through some significant life experience decide you are tough – you may dig up memories of being aggressive in the past or even completely make them up. </p>
<p>Having multiple daily memory reports on the phone of how we were in the past might therefore render our memory less malleable and less adaptable to the changes brought about by life – making our identity more stable and fixed.</p>
<p>But this can create problems if our present identity becomes different from our fixed, past one. That is an uncomfortable experience and exactly what the “normal” functioning of memory is aimed to avoid – it is malleable so that we can have a non-contradictory narrative about ourselves. We want to think of ourselves as having a certain unchanging “core”. If we feel unable to change how we see ourselves over time, this could seriously affect our sense of agency and mental health.</p>
<p>So our obsession with taking photos may be causing both memory loss and uncomfortable identity discrepancies. </p>
<p>It is interesting to think about how technology changes the way we behave and function. As long as we are aware of the risks, we can probably mitigate harmful effects. The possibility that actually sends shivers to my spine is that we lose all those precious pictures because of some widespread malfunctioning of our smart phones. </p>
<p>So the next time you’re at a museum, do take a moment to look up and experience it all. Just in case those photos go missing.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/109285/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Giuliana Mazzoni receives funding from the Leverhulme Trust</span></em></p>Memories are an important part of our identity and we increasingly entrust them to the cloud – with potentially serious consequences.Giuliana Mazzoni, Professor of Psychology, University of HullLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1043272018-12-27T19:03:59Z2018-12-27T19:03:59ZWhy two people see the same thing but have different memories<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/246822/original/file-20181122-182044-z5yjhx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=496&amp;fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock/Photographee.eu</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Does it ever strike you as odd that you and a friend can experience the same event at the same time, but come away with different memories of what happened? So why is it that people can recall the same thing so differently?</p>
<p>We all know memory isn’t perfect, and most memory differences are relatively trivial. But sometimes they can have serious consequences.</p>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/witnesses-are-forgetting-clues-to-the-boston-bombings-quickly-12935">Imagine if you both witnessed a crime</a>. What factors lead to memory differences and whom should we trust?</p>
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<em>
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Read more:
<a href="http://theconversation.com/you-cant-erase-bad-memories-but-you-can-learn-ways-to-cope-with-them-103161">You can't 'erase' bad memories, but you can learn ways to cope with them</a>
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<p>There are three important aspects to memory: encoding, storage, and retrieval.</p>
<ul>
<li><p><strong>encoding</strong> is how we get information into the brain</p></li>
<li><p><strong>storage</strong> is how we retain information over time</p></li>
<li><p><strong>retrieval</strong> is how we get information out of the brain.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Differences in each or a combination of these aspects might help explain why memories differ from one person to another.</p>
<h2>How different people encode memories</h2>
<p>Memory encoding starts with perception — the organisation and interpretation of sensory information from the environment.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/salience">salience</a> of sensory information (for example, how bright a light is or loud a sound) is important – but perception does not rely on salience alone.</p>
<p>Rather, perception is strongly affected by what we have experienced in the past and our expectations of what we might experience in the future. These effects are called top-down processes, and have a big impact on whether we successfully encode a memory.</p>
<p>One of the most important top-down processes is attention — our ability to focus selectively on parts of the world, to the exclusion of other parts.</p>
<p>While certain visual items can be <a href="https://www.cibf.edu.au/without-attention">perceived</a> or <a href="https://www.cibf.edu.au/you-can-memorise-faces-in-a-single-glance-without-trying">encoded</a> into memory with little or possibly no attention, attending to items is hugely beneficial for perception and memory.</p>
<p>How different people focus their attention on an event will affect what they remember. </p>
<p>For example, your preference for a particular sporting team can bias your attention and memory. <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/metacognition-and-the-mind/201406/selective-perception-and-attention-the-world-cup">A study</a> of American football found that sports fans tended to remember rough play instigated by their opponent, rather than their own side.</p>
<p>Age also contributes to differences in memory, because our ability to encode the context of memories <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0028393216301178">diminishes as we get older</a>.</p>
<p>Context is an important feature of memory. <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.3758/s13421-017-0692-5">Studies show</a> that if we attend to both an item and its context, we remember the item better than if we attend to the item alone. </p>
<p>For example, we are more inclined to encode the location of our car keys if we focus on both the keys and how we have placed them in a room, rather than just focusing on the keys alone.</p>
<h2>How different people store memories</h2>
<p>Memories are first encoded into a temporary memory store called short-term memory. Short-term memories decay quickly and only have a capacity of <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11515286">three or four bits at a time</a>.</p>
<p>But we can group larger bits of information into manageable chunks to fit into memory. For instance, consider the challenging letter sequence:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>C, I, A, A, B, C, F, B, I</p>
</blockquote>
<p>This can be chunked into the easily memorised:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>CIA, ABC, FBI</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Information in short-term memory is held in a highly accessible state so we can bind features together. Techniques such as verbal rehearsal (repeating words aloud or in our head) allow us to consolidate our short-term memories into long-term memories.</p>
<p>Long-term memory has an enormous capacity. We can remember at least 10,000 pictures, according to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/14640747308400340">a study</a> from the 1970s.</p>
<p>Memories can differ between people on the basis of how we consolidate them. Many studies have investigated how memory consolidation can be improved. <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/nature04286">Sleep</a> is a well-known example.</p>
<p>A <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/nn.3623">study</a> found that long-term memory can also be enhanced by taking caffeine immediately after learning. The study used caffeine tablets to carefully control dosage, but this builds on growing evidence for the <a href="https://theconversation.com/three-or-four-cups-of-coffee-a-day-does-you-more-good-than-harm-our-new-study-suggests-87870">benefits of moderate coffee consumption</a>. </p>
<h2>How different people retrieve memories</h2>
<p>Retrieving episodic memories, our memory of events, is a complex process because we must combine objects, places and people into a single meaningful event.</p>
<p>The complexity of memory retrieval is exemplified by tip-of-the-tongue states — the common and frustrating experience that we hold something in long-term memory but we cannot retrieve it right now.</p>
<p>The emergence of brain imaging has meant we have identified many brain areas that are important for memory retrieval, but the full picture of how retrieval works remains mysterious.</p>
<p>There are many reasons that memory retrieval can differ from one person to another. Our ability to retrieve memories can be affected by our health. </p>
<p>For example, memory retrieval is impaired if we have a <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0304395901004882">headache</a> or are <a href="http://www.jneurosci.org/content/25/11/2977.short">stressed</a>.</p>
<p>Retrieval is also affected by the outside world; even the wording of questions can change how we recall an event. <a href="https://www.simplypsychology.org/loftus-palmer.html">A study</a> instructed people to view films of car accidents and then asked them to judge the speed the cars were moving. If people were asked how fast the cars were moving when they “crashed” or “smashed” into each other they judged the cars as moving faster than if the words “contacted” or “hit” were used.</p>
<p>Memory retrieval can also be affected by the presence of other people. When groups of people work together they often experience <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9293627">collaborative inhibition</a> — a deficit in overall memory performance when compared to the same group if they work separately and their memories are pooled after each individual has recounted their version.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="http://theconversation.com/its-not-so-easy-to-gain-the-true-measure-of-things-92741">It's not so easy to gain the true measure of things</a>
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</em>
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<p>Effects such as collaborative inhibition highlight why memory differences occur but also why eyewitness testimony is so problematic.</p>
<p>Thankfully, the proliferation of smartphones has lead to the development of innovative apps, such as <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-we-made-iwitnessed-an-app-to-collect-evidence-94107">iWitnessed</a>, that are designed to help witnesses and victims preserve and protect their memories.</p>
<p>Technology such as this and knowledge of memory encoding, storage, and retrieval can help us determine whom to trust when differences in memory occur.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/104327/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Julian Matthews does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>We all know memory isn’t perfect but how different people focus their attention on an event will affect what they remember.Julian Matthews, Postdoctoral Research Officer – Cognitive Neurology Laboratory, Monash UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1064612018-12-17T10:49:18Z2018-12-17T10:49:18ZAre memories reliable? Expert explains how they change more than we realise<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/250919/original/file-20181217-185258-1gc7soo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=496&amp;fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Tiny mistakes can appear in our memories every time we recall past events. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-illustration/3d-head-erased-by-pencil-eraser-1015037953?src=EnukGUS8iTS2LSW7lGH6dg-4-44">Quick Shot/ Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Your memory probably isn’t as good as you think it is. We rely on our memories not only for <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/741938207">sharing stories</a> with friends or learning from our <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/741938208">past experiences</a>, but we also use it for crucial things like creating a <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/741938210">sense of personal identity</a>. Yet evidence shows that our <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09658211.2013.866683">memory isn’t as consistent</a> as we’d like to believe. What’s worse, we’re often guilty of changing the facts and <a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-what-are-false-memories-49454">adding false details</a> to our memories without even realising. </p>
<p>To understand a bit about how remembering works, consider the <a href="https://icebreakerideas.com/telephone-game/">“telephone game”</a> (also known as “Chinese whispers”). In the game, one person quietly whispers a message to the person beside them, who then passes it on to the next person in line, and so on. Each time the message is relayed, some parts might be misheard or misunderstood, others might get innocently altered, improved, or forgotten. Over time the message can become very different from the original. </p>
<p>The same can happen to our memories. There are countless reasons why tiny mistakes or embellishments might happen each time we recall past events, ranging from what we believe is true or wish were true, to what someone else told us about the past event, or what we want that person to think. And whenever these flaws happen, they can have long-term effects on how we’ll recall that memory in the future.</p>
<p>Take storytelling for example. When we describe our memories to other people, we use artistic license to tell the story differently depending on who’s listening. We might ask ourselves whether it’s vital to get the facts straight, or whether we only want to make the listener laugh. And we might change the story’s details depending on the listener’s attitudes or political leaning. Research shows that when we describe our memories differently to different audiences it isn’t only the message that changes, but sometimes it’s also the memory itself. This is known as the <a href="http://psycnet.apa.org/record/2005-13299-001">“audience-tuning effect”</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/250920/original/file-20181217-185240-thdxkw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/250920/original/file-20181217-185240-thdxkw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=400&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250920/original/file-20181217-185240-thdxkw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=400&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250920/original/file-20181217-185240-thdxkw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=400&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250920/original/file-20181217-185240-thdxkw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=503&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250920/original/file-20181217-185240-thdxkw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=503&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250920/original/file-20181217-185240-thdxkw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=503&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">We often describe our memories differently depending on who’s listening.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/young-pretty-woman-telling-fascinating-story-267211376?src=vqPoURB5AUqX4ZG8bppukw-1-20">ESB Professional/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><a href="https://econtent.hogrefe.com/doi/abs/10.1027/1864-9335.40.3.138">In one study</a> on the audience-tuning effect, participants watched a video of a bar fight. In the video, two intoxicated men get into a physical confrontation after one man has argued with his friend, and the other has seen his favourite football team lose a match. Afterwards, participants were asked to tell a stranger what they had seen.</p>
<p>The study’s participants were split into two groups. One group was told that the stranger disliked one of the two fighters in the video. The other group was told that the stranger liked this same fighter. Unsurprisingly, this extra information shaped how people described the video to the stranger. Participants gave more negative accounts of the behaviour of the fighter if they believed the stranger disliked him. </p>
<p>More importantly though, the way people told their story later affected the way they remembered the fighter’s behaviour. When participants later tried to remember the fight in a neutral, unbiased way, the two groups still gave somewhat differing accounts of what had happened, mirroring the attitude of their original audience. To an extent, these participants’ stories had become their memories.</p>
<p>Results like these show us how our memories can change spontaneously over time, as a product of how, when, and why we access them. In fact, sometimes simply the act of rehearsing a memory can be exactly what makes it susceptible to change. This is known as “retrieval-enhanced suggestibility”.</p>
<p>In a <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211368117300724">typical study of this effect</a>, participants watched a short film, then took a memory test a few days later. But during the days between watching the film and taking the final test, two other things happened. First, half of the participants took a practice memory test. Second, all of the participants were given a description of the film to read, which contained some false details. </p>
<p>The aim of these studies was to see how many of the false details people would eventually reproduce in the final memory test. <a href="http://learnmem.cshlp.org/content/12/4/361.short">Hundreds of studies already show</a> that people will unwittingly add false details like these to their memories. But these studies found something even more fascinating. Participants who took a practice memory test shortly before reading the false information were more likely to reproduce this false information in the final memory test. In this case, practice makes imperfect. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="http://theconversation.com/the-real-you-is-a-myth-we-constantly-create-false-memories-to-achieve-the-identity-we-want-103253">The 'real you' is a myth – we constantly create false memories to achieve the identity we want</a>
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</p>
<hr>
<p>Why might this be? <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S107474271630404X">One theory</a> is that rehearsing our memories of past events can temporarily make those memories malleable. In other words, retrieving a memory might be a bit like taking ice-cream out of the freezer and leaving it in direct sunlight for a while. By the time our memory goes back into the freezer, it might have naturally become a little misshapen, especially if someone has meddled with it in the meantime.</p>
<p>These findings teach us a lot about how our memories are formed and stored. And they might lead us to wonder how much our most treasured memories have changed since the very first time we remembered them.</p>
<p>Or perhaps not. After all, <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09658211.2016.1214280">my research with other colleagues shows that</a> people are generally pretty unwilling to invest time and effort in checking the accuracy of their memories. But whether or not you ever actually discover any small or large changes that have occurred, it’s unlikely that your treasured memory is 100% accurate. Remembering is an act of storytelling, after all. And our memories are only ever as reliable as the most recent story we told ourselves.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/106461/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Robert Nash does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Even our most treasured memories can gradually change over time.Robert Nash, Senior Lecturer in Psychology, Aston UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1036332018-11-08T10:50:51Z2018-11-08T10:50:51ZKristallnacht 80 years on: some reading to help make sense of the most notorious state-sponsored pogrom<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/244310/original/file-20181107-74783-1b8ixhf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=496&amp;fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">German citizens in Magdeburg the morning after Kristallnacht.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">German Federal Archive</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>On the evening of November 9 1938 a Nazi pogrom raged across German and Austrian cities. Nazis branded the atrocity with a poetic term: <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1988/11/09/us/the-road-to-extermination-kristallnacht-lessons-pondered-by-historians.html">Kristallnacht</a> or “Crystal Night”. In that branding, fiction took hold. In English it translates as “The Night of Broken Glass” but that also tames the horror. Yes, broken glass from Jewish shopfront windows littered the streets, but also hundreds of synagogues and Jewish businesses were burned to the ground while Jews were beaten, imprisoned and killed. </p>
<p>Eight decades later, novelists are still trying to make sense of the pogrom – which was was designed to give the Nazi Party’s antisemitic agenda the legitimacy of public support.</p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/244334/original/file-20181107-74760-id7ege.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/244334/original/file-20181107-74760-id7ege.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=237&amp;fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/244334/original/file-20181107-74760-id7ege.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=879&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244334/original/file-20181107-74760-id7ege.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=879&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244334/original/file-20181107-74760-id7ege.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=879&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244334/original/file-20181107-74760-id7ege.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=1104&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244334/original/file-20181107-74760-id7ege.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=1104&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244334/original/file-20181107-74760-id7ege.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=1104&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Herschel Grynszpan just after his arrest on November 7 1938.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Bundesarchiv Bild</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Kristallnacht marked a new epoch. Earlier pogroms, such as in Russia, were popular riots – now, for the first time, an industrial nation turned the forces of the state against an ethnic group within its own borders. To get away with this, a state needs to control the narrative. In this instance, propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels was the key player. When a young Polish Jew named <a href="http://www.holocaustresearchproject.org/holoprelude/grynszpan.html">Herschel Grynszpan</a> entered the German Embassy in Paris and shot a German official, Goebbels saw the possibilities. He used news of the event to trigger Kristallnacht.</p>
<h2>Fear and disbelief</h2>
<p>The state that attacks its citizens also turns on its writers and free-thinkers – people who can construct a counter-narrative. The future Nobel Prize-winner Elias Canetti and his wife, the writer Veza, were such people. “We shall remember this November”, a Jewish character reflects in Veza Canetti’s novel <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/veza-canetti-the-tortoises/a-44559543">The Tortoises</a>, “when we are all being punished because a child went wrong and was led astray”. </p>
<p>In the wake of Kristallnacht, the Canettis fled Vienna for Paris and by January 1939 had settled in exile in London, where, in a feverish three months, Veza wrote her novel (unpublished until this century). It provides a window on how intellectuals fought to understand the unimaginable as it unfolded. “The temples are burning!” says one character. “Can you believe that’s possible?” asks another. So why don’t they go and see for themselves? “People haven’t the heart. They feel like criminals. They believe the temple will strike them down if they watch and don’t do anything about it.” </p>
<p><a href="https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-1-59643-119-5">Emil and Karl</a>, the first published novel to feature the pogrom, came out in New York in February 1940. <a href="http://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-9780199840731/obo-9780199840731-0172.xml">Yankev Glatshteyn</a>, a Polish Jew and immigrant to the US, wrote it in Yiddish to alert American Jewish youngsters to the perils facing their European kindred. It features two friends, one a Jewish boy and the other the son of socialists. Forced to scrub streets clean with their hands after Kristallnacht, both boys learn they must flee their country if they are to stay alive.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/244350/original/file-20181107-74757-14c77ww.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/244350/original/file-20181107-74757-14c77ww.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=237&amp;fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/244350/original/file-20181107-74757-14c77ww.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=955&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244350/original/file-20181107-74757-14c77ww.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=955&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244350/original/file-20181107-74757-14c77ww.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=955&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244350/original/file-20181107-74757-14c77ww.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=1201&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244350/original/file-20181107-74757-14c77ww.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=1201&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244350/original/file-20181107-74757-14c77ww.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=1201&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Novelist Christa Wolf was 27 when she witnessed Kristallnacht.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Amazon</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/02/arts/christa-wolf-dies-at-82-wrote-of-the-germanys.html">Christa Wolf</a>, who forged life as a writer in what became East Germany, fed her memories of the night into Nelly, a character in her 1976 novel A Model Childhood. Nelly knew nothing of Jews, but in that pogrom she witnessed a burning synagogue. “It wouldn’t have taken much for Nelly to have succumbed to an improper emotion: compassion,” Wolf reflected. “But healthy German common sense built a barrier against it: fear.” These asides of bitter irony note the chilling reality of the time: those who showed sympathy for the plight of the Jews risked sharing their plight.</p>
<h2>Still burning</h2>
<p>So to the 21st century. With events such as Kristallnacht locked away in history, what use are we novelists? Novels unlock history. Governments maintain their hold on narratives that justify abuses of power – but novelists can invert that narrative order to reveal neglected viewpoints.</p>
<p>In 2009, Laurent Binet novelised the life and death of Reinhard Heydrich (a man known as “Hitler’s Brain” – the German acronym which gives the book its title: <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2012/may/16/hhhh-laurent-binet-review">HHhH</a>. Under orders from Goebbels, Heydrich set the November pogrom in motion. Binet maintains clinical control of the story, anchoring it to archived fact. Heydrich is shown measuring Kristallnacht’s efficiency, including the cost of all the broken glass.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/244332/original/file-20181107-74760-31g7ow.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/244332/original/file-20181107-74760-31g7ow.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=400&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244332/original/file-20181107-74760-31g7ow.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=400&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244332/original/file-20181107-74760-31g7ow.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=400&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244332/original/file-20181107-74760-31g7ow.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=503&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244332/original/file-20181107-74760-31g7ow.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=503&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244332/original/file-20181107-74760-31g7ow.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=503&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The interior of Fasanenstrasse Synagogue, Berlin, which was burned on Kristallnacht.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Center for Jewish History, New York</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In Michele Zackheim’s <a href="https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2014/03/28/facts-first-an-interview-with-michelle-zackheim/">Last Train to Paris </a> (2013) an American Jewish female journalist is dispatched into Nazi-controlled Berlin. Highlighted here is not the broken glass, but the fires. </p>
<blockquote>
<p>[With] no wind, clouds of smoke were perched on top of each burning building. In between the buildings, perversely, as if Mother Nature were laughing at our idiocy, we could see the stars.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Those fires also burn a synagogue in a remote Austrian town in <a href="https://www.jilliancantor.com/">The Lost Letter</a>, the 2017 novel by Jillian Cantor – a novelist who focuses on 20th-century history. Cantor’s novel follows Zackheim’s in looking back over decades, seeking emotional engagement with distant tragedy.</p>
<h2>All the toys in the world</h2>
<p>Günter Grass was ten on Kristallnacht, the same age as Oskar in his novel <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2009/oct/07/the-tin-drum-gunter-grass">The Tin Drum</a> (1952). The Jewish toyshop that supplied Oskar’s drum was burned down that night and the shop owner killed himself – “he took along with him all the toys in the world”. A character akin to Grass appears in John Boyne’s 2018 novel <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/aug/05/ladder-to-sky-john-boyne-review">A Ladder to the Sky</a>. In his teens <a href="http://www.spiegel.de/international/nobel-prize-author-guenter-grass-i-was-a-member-of-the-ss-a-431353.html">Grass joined the Waffen-SS</a> – a fact he kept secret until old age. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/244347/original/file-20181107-74787-ap5dtl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/244347/original/file-20181107-74787-ap5dtl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=422&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244347/original/file-20181107-74787-ap5dtl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=422&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244347/original/file-20181107-74787-ap5dtl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=422&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244347/original/file-20181107-74787-ap5dtl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=531&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244347/original/file-20181107-74787-ap5dtl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=531&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244347/original/file-20181107-74787-ap5dtl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=531&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A column of Jews being deported ‘for their own safety’, in November 1938, following the Kristallnacht pogrom.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Federal Archives</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In Boyne’s book, the central character, a writer, took actions after Kristallnacht that destroyed a Jewish family. Like Grass he contained the story for decades. Of course, the true storyteller must share and not conceal stories. Wolf showed us how fear was a barrier against compassion. Boyne makes us face the consequences of overcoming such fear.</p>
<p>Once people would have said Kristallnacht was unimaginable in a modern context. But they were wrong – <a href="https://www.politico.eu/article/the-roma-peoples-hungarian-hell/">do Roma feel safe</a> from the actions of the Hungarian State today? How safe are the Rohingya in Myanmar, Mexicans in the US, the Windrush generation in the UK? </p>
<p>Through fiction we can enter history, encounter suffering and exercise compassion. We close our book, awakened. Fiction sharpens memory for when history repeats itself.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/103633/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Martin Goodman&#39;s new novel J SS Bach, which tackles the themes of the Holocaust and Music and stems from the historical events of 1938, comes out from Wrecking Ball Press in March 2019. </span></em></p>Eight decades on, the thought of the state encouraging people to attack groups of citizens is hard to believe. Here are some books that might help.Martin Goodman, Professor of Creative Writing, University of HullLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1049922018-10-18T10:54:51Z2018-10-18T10:54:51ZThe problem with using 'super recognisers' to spot criminals in a crowd<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/241213/original/file-20181018-67191-ceflkk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=496&amp;fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/portrait-young-businesspeople-face-recognized-intellectual-1103731769?src=j2YHKqXCPj1yiGwR-nCHbw-1-16">Andrew Popov/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>People often say that they never forget a face, but for some people, this claim might actually be true. So-called <a href="https://theconversation.com/could-super-recognisers-be-the-latest-weapon-in-the-war-on-terror-56772">super recognisers</a> are said to possess exceptional face recognition abilities, often remembering the faces of those they have only briefly encountered or <a href="http://www.prosopagnosiaresearch.org/about/super-recognition">haven’t seen for many years.</a> Their unique skills have even caught the attention of <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/acp.3170">policing and security organisations</a>, who have begun using super recognisers to match photographs of suspects or missing persons to blurry CCTV footage.</p>
<p>But recent research conducted at Bournemouth University shows that the methods used to <a href="https://cognitiveresearchjournal.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s41235-018-0116-5">identify super recognisers</a> are limited, and that the people recruited for this work might not always be as super as initially thought.</p>
<p>Identifications made by super recognisers can’t be used as evidence in court, but can help police early on in the investigative process. Super recognisers can also help revive cold cases by viewing archival footage to identify possible repeat offenders who were present around known crime scenes.</p>
<p>The people who come forward as possible super recognisers do so because they believe they have a knack for remembering faces. However, <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01378/full">research suggests</a> people aren’t very well equipped to judge their skill in this area and often aren’t as good at identification as they think they are. </p>
<p>Volunteers’ claims are usually validated using a <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.3758/PBR.16.2.252">computer-based test of face memory</a>. This test usually involves memorising and then recalling a set of unfamiliar faces. But it seems unlikely that we can draw firm conclusions about a person’s face recognition ability on the basis of a single test. Poor performance could reflect fatigue, illness or poor motivation, and good performance may simply arise through chance.</p>
<h2>Multiple tests needed</h2>
<p>Based on these limitations, my colleagues at Bournemouth University have attempted to devise a rigorous way to identify super recognisers. To do this, they put 200 self-selected participants through a series of face recognition tests to try to assess which combination of tasks were important for identifying the most consistent face-recognisers.</p>
<p>The researchers found that, to get a reliable result, any test should assess several elements of face recognition ability and in multiple ways. For example, some participants displayed only average performance on face memory tests but excelled in face-matching tasks. These involved deciding whether a pair of faces depicted the same person (this seemingly simple task is actually deceptively difficult to perform).</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/241217/original/file-20181018-67161-cv88uo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/241217/original/file-20181018-67161-cv88uo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=400&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/241217/original/file-20181018-67161-cv88uo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=400&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/241217/original/file-20181018-67161-cv88uo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=400&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/241217/original/file-20181018-67161-cv88uo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=503&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/241217/original/file-20181018-67161-cv88uo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=503&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/241217/original/file-20181018-67161-cv88uo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=503&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Standard computer-based memory tests aren’t enough.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/view-behind-over-her-shoulder-photographer-551374048?src=csEahrAHRWiSWdp_6e_9jw-3-17">Andrzej Wilusz/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Similarly, some participants fared well in the standard computer-based memory test but not a newer test involving memorising and recalling very different images of the same face with different angles, lighting and facial expressions. Others did well in the new test but not the standard one, while the most consistent performers did well in both. This suggests using a single measure of face recognition ability might show participants to be better or worse than they really are. Multiple tests provide a more reliable estimate of ability.</p>
<p>These findings support the argument that current simple tests may identify some people as super recognisers who aren’t actually all that good at facial recognition, and miss other better performers. The results also make the case for matching super recognisers to different tasks depending on their strengths. For example, people with strong face-matching abilities would be better at matching suspects or missing persons across different photographic or video examples. Those with strong face memory skills would be better at selecting potential repeat offenders from lots of archival images. </p>
<p>Research is now taking place <a href="http://whatworks.college.police.uk/About/News/Pages/Facial_recognition.aspx">as a collaboration</a> between academics and law enforcement in the hope of producing more rigorous and diverse ways to identify super recognisers and match them to the most suitable tasks. Collaborative efforts will ensure that this so far <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-trouble-with-facial-recognition-technology-in-the-real-world-69685">uniquely human skill</a> is put to best use.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/104992/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Emma Portch does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Authorities need a better way to identify so-called super recognisers who match suspects to CCTV footage.Emma Portch, Lecturer in Psychology, Bournemouth UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1031612018-10-10T18:42:26Z2018-10-10T18:42:26ZYou can't 'erase' bad memories, but you can learn ways to cope with them<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/240009/original/file-20181010-72103-1yimkr0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=496&amp;fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">If someone has a fear of dogs, a therapist might try to reframe their beliefs to ones such as: &#39;most dogs are friendly&#39;</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/AlEdzQzWTVU">Erik Odiin/Unsplash</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind pitched an interesting premise: what if we could erase unwanted memories that lead to sadness, despair, depression, or anxiety? Might this someday be possible, and do we know enough about how distressing memories are formed, stored, and retrieved to make such <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21658578">a therapy possible</a>? </p>
<p>Cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) is a common treatment for anxiety disorders. The basic idea of CBT is to change the fear-eliciting thoughts that underlie a client’s anxiety.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="http://theconversation.com/explainer-what-is-cognitive-behaviour-therapy-37351">Explainer: what is cognitive behaviour therapy?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Imagine the instance where a person has a dog phobia. They are likely to believe that “all dogs are dangerous”. During CBT, the client is gradually exposed to friendly dogs to cognitively reframe their thoughts or memories into something more realistic – such as the belief “most dogs are friendly”. </p>
<p>CBT is one of the most <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/da.22728">scientifically supported treatments</a> for anxiety disorders. But unfortunately, a <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0890856718302211">recent US study</a> indicates that in around 50% of patients, old fear memories resurface four years after CBT or drug treatment. Put another way, the old fear memories seem impermeable to erasure through gold-standard therapy or drug treatment.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/239081/original/file-20181003-723-1vckpu7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/239081/original/file-20181003-723-1vckpu7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/239081/original/file-20181003-723-1vckpu7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=405&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/239081/original/file-20181003-723-1vckpu7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=405&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/239081/original/file-20181003-723-1vckpu7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=405&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/239081/original/file-20181003-723-1vckpu7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=508&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/239081/original/file-20181003-723-1vckpu7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=508&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/239081/original/file-20181003-723-1vckpu7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=508&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind was an interesting thought experiment into whether it’s better for your well-being to erase painful memories.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0338013/mediaviewer/rm4189203456">Focus Features/Anonymous Content/ This Is That Productions/IMDb</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Why distressing memories are difficult to ‘erase’</h2>
<p>Fear memories are stored in an old part of the brain called the amygdala. The amygdala developed early in our evolutionary history because having a healthy dose of fear keeps us safe from dangerous situations that might reduce our chances of survival. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="http://theconversation.com/were-capable-of-infinite-memory-but-where-in-the-brain-is-it-stored-and-what-parts-help-retrieve-it-63386">We're capable of infinite memory, but where in the brain is it stored, and what parts help retrieve it?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Permanent storage of dangerous information is adaptive. While we might learn some things are safe sometimes (encountering a lion in a zoo) we also need to be aware they not safe in many other circumstances (meeting a lion in the wild). </p>
<p>This permanent storage of a fear memory explains why relapse occurs. During therapy, a new memory – say, “most dogs are friendly” – is formed. But this new safe memory is <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16616731">bound to a specific context</a> (friendly dog in the <em>therapy room</em>). In that context, the rational part of the brain, the prefrontal cortex, puts a <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4145052/">brake on the amygdala</a> and tells it not to retrieve the old fear memory. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/237477/original/file-20180921-88806-1vs8kaz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/237477/original/file-20180921-88806-1vs8kaz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/237477/original/file-20180921-88806-1vs8kaz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=338&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/237477/original/file-20180921-88806-1vs8kaz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=338&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/237477/original/file-20180921-88806-1vs8kaz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=338&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/237477/original/file-20180921-88806-1vs8kaz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=424&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/237477/original/file-20180921-88806-1vs8kaz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=424&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/237477/original/file-20180921-88806-1vs8kaz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=424&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The prefrontal cortext can put a brake (blue line) on the amygdala, if it doesn’t want it to retrieve the old memory.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">from shutterstock.com</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But what happens when a patient encounters a new context, such as a dog in a <em>park</em>? By default, the brain retrieves the fear memory that “all dogs are dangerous” in any context, except the one where the new safe memory occurred. That is, old <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.5127/jep.040013">fear memories can be renewed</a> with <em>any</em> change in context. </p>
<p>This default has helped humans survive in dangerous environments throughout our evolutionary history. However, for anxious clients whose fear is unrealistic and excessive, this default to distressing memories is likely <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25261887">one important basis for the high rates of anxiety relapse</a>. </p>
<h2>So is erasure ever possible?</h2>
<p>There are a few instances that suggest <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3380534/">“erasure” is sometimes possible</a>. For example, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19846065">relapse is not seen early in life with non-human animals</a>. This may be because the brake signals from the prefrontal cortex to the amygdala mature late in development. As there are no brakes, perhaps erasure of fear memories occurs instead. </p>
<p>By extension, this suggests early intervention for anxiety disorder is important as children may be more resilient to relapse. However, the jury is still out on whether erasure of fear memories occurs at all in children and, if so, at what age.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/239086/original/file-20181003-723-rwxu0n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/239086/original/file-20181003-723-rwxu0n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/239086/original/file-20181003-723-rwxu0n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=400&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/239086/original/file-20181003-723-rwxu0n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=400&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/239086/original/file-20181003-723-rwxu0n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=400&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/239086/original/file-20181003-723-rwxu0n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=503&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/239086/original/file-20181003-723-rwxu0n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=503&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/239086/original/file-20181003-723-rwxu0n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=503&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">It’s important to expose yourself to your fear in as many different contexts as possible.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/7c3mrD9IGiU">Marcus Benedix/Unsplash</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>So, given the high rate of relapse, is there a point to pursuing treatment at all? Absolutely! Having some respite from anxiety allows for significant moments of sunshine and improves quality of life, even if it is not eternal. In these moments, the typically anxious person might attend parties and make new friends or handle a stressful job interview successfully – things they would not have done because of excessive fear.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="http://theconversation.com/memories-of-trauma-are-unique-because-of-how-brains-and-bodies-respond-to-threat-103725">Memories of trauma are unique because of how brains and bodies respond to threat</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>One way to <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4114726/">reduce the chances of relapse</a> is to confront irrational fear at every opportunity and <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25601294">create new safe memories in many different contexts</a>. Anticipating contextual factors that are trigger points for relapse, such as changing jobs or relationship break-ups, can also be adaptive. Strategies can then be used to manage the re-emergence of distressing thoughts and memories. </p>
<p>While erasure of negative memories may be the goal of the characters in Eternal Sunshine, the film also emphasises the importance of these memories. When processed rationally, stressful memories motivate us to make better decisions and become resilient. Being able look back on unpleasant memories without excessive distress allows us to move forward with greater wisdom and this is the ultimate goal for all therapeutic frameworks.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/103161/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>She has received funding from the Ian Potter Foundation, St George Foundation, and the Australian Research Council. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rick Richardson receives funding from the Australian Research Council and the National Health and Medical Research Council. </span></em></p>A recent study found that half of patients who had therapy to help them cope with painful memories had a relapse four years later. So, is there a way to erase unwanted memories for good?Carol Newall, Senior Lecturer in Early Childhood, Macquarie UniversityRick Richardson, Professor, UNSWLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1039822018-10-03T10:32:26Z2018-10-03T10:32:26ZHow should we judge people for their past moral failings?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/239018/original/file-20181002-101576-bfdjtm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=496&amp;fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The #MeToo movement and more recent allegations against Brett Kavanaugh have posed questions about past conduct.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Supreme-Court-Kavanaugh-MeToo/d404cf1712bc48da99b0251790de864f/5/0">AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The <a href="https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/kavanaugh-sexual-assault-allegation-dle/index.html">recent allegations</a> of sexual assault against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh have further divided the nation. Among the questions the case raises are some important ethical ones. </p>
<p>Not least among them is the question of moral responsibility for actions long since passed. Particularly in light of the #MeToo movement, which has frequently involved the unearthing of decades old wrongdoing, this question has become a pressing one.</p>
<p><a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=lp2AS3oAAAAJ&amp;hl=en&amp;authuser=1">As a philosopher</a>, I believe this ethical conundrum <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11098-012-9976-6">involves two issues</a>: one, the question of moral responsibility for an action at the time it occurred. And two, moral responsibility in the present time, for actions of the past. <a href="http://earlymoderntexts.com/assets/pdfs/locke1690book2_4.pdf">Most</a> <a href="https://books.google.com/books/about/Doing_Deserving.html?id=EEl4KgAACAAJ">philosophers</a> <a href="https://books.google.com/books/about/An_Essay_on_Moral_Responsibility.html?id=-zvXAAAAMAAJ">seem</a> <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/20009933?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents">to</a> <a href="http://mitpress.universitypressscholarship.com/view/10.7551/mitpress/9780262014090.001.0001/upso-9780262014090-chapter-7">think</a> that the two cannot be separated. In other words, moral responsibility for an action, once committed, is set in stone.</p>
<p>I argue that there are reasons to think that moral responsibility can actually change over time – but only under certain conditions.</p>
<h2>Locke on personal identity</h2>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/239022/original/file-20181002-101588-1s7ydcv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=237&amp;fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/239022/original/file-20181002-101588-1s7ydcv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=833&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/239022/original/file-20181002-101588-1s7ydcv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=833&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/239022/original/file-20181002-101588-1s7ydcv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=833&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/239022/original/file-20181002-101588-1s7ydcv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=1047&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/239022/original/file-20181002-101588-1s7ydcv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=1047&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/239022/original/file-20181002-101588-1s7ydcv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=1047&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Portrait of John Locke.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/63794459@N07/6282628216">Skara kommun/Flickr.com</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>There is an implicit agreement among philosophers that moral responsibility can’t change over time because they think it is a matter of one’s “personal identity.” The 17th-century British philosopher <a href="https://www.iep.utm.edu/locke/">John Locke</a> was the first to explicitly raise this question. He asked: What makes an individual at one time the very same person as an individual at another time? Is this because both share the same soul, or the same body, or is it something else? </p>
<p>Not only is this, as philosopher <a href="https://philpapers.org/rec/KORPI">Carsten Korfmacher</a> notes, <a href="https://www.iep.utm.edu/person-i/">“literally a question of life and death</a>,” but Locke also thought that personal identity was the key to moral responsibility over time. <a href="http://earlymoderntexts.com/authors/locke">As he wrote,</a> </p>
<blockquote>
<p>“Personal identity is the basis for all the right and justice of reward and punishment.” </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Locke believed that individuals deserve blame for a crime committed in the past simply because they are the same person that committed the past crime. From this perspective, Kavanaugh the 53-year-old would be responsible for any of the alleged actions that he committed as a young adult. </p>
<h2>Problems with Locke’s view</h2>
<p>Locke argued that being the same person over time was not a matter of having the same soul or having the same body. It was instead a matter of having the same consciousness over time, which he analyzed in terms of memory. </p>
<p>Thus, in Locke’s view, individuals are responsible for a past wrong act <a href="https://iainews.iai.tv/articles/should-people-be-punished-for-crimes-they-cant-remember-committing-what-john-locke-would-say-about-vernon-madison-auid-1050?access=ALL">so long as they can remember committing it</a>. </p>
<p>While there is clearly something appealing about the idea that memory ties us to the past, it is hard to believe that a person could get off the hook just by forgetting a criminal act. Indeed, <a href="http://jaapl.org/content/7/3/219">some research suggests that violent crime actually induces memory loss</a>.</p>
<p>But the problems with Locke’s view run deeper than this. The chief one is that it doesn’t take into consideration other changes in one’s psychological makeup. For example, many of us are inclined to think that the remorseful don’t deserve as much blame for their past wrongs as those who express no regret. But if Locke’s view were true, then remorse wouldn’t be relevant. </p>
<p>The remorseful would still deserve just as much blame for their past crimes because they remain identical with their former selves. </p>
<h2>Responsibility and change</h2>
<p>Of late, <a href="https://www.pdcnet.org/harvardreview/content/harvardreview_2012_0018_0001_0109_0132">some philosophers</a> are beginning to question the assumption that responsibility for actions in the past is just a question of personal identity. <a href="https://liberalarts.tulane.edu/departments/philosophy/people/david-shoemaker">David Shoemaker</a>, for example, argues that responsibility doesn’t require identity. </p>
<p>In <a href="https://philpapers.org/rec/KHOIBF-2">a forthcoming paper</a> in the <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-the-american-philosophical-association">Journal of the American Philosophical Association</a>, my coauthor <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=oHU097gAAAAJ&amp;hl=en">Benjamin Matheson</a> and I argue that the fact that one has committed a wrong action in the past isn’t enough to guarantee responsibility in the present. Instead, this depends on whether or not the person has changed in morally important ways. </p>
<p>Philosophers generally agree that people deserve blame for an action <a href="https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/blame/#WheBlaApp">only if the action was performed with a certain state of mind</a>: say, an intention to knowingly commit a crime.</p>
<p>My coauthor and I argue that deserving blame in the present for an action in the past depends on whether those same states of mind persist in that person. For example, does the person still have the beliefs, intentions and personality traits that led to the past act in the first place? </p>
<p>If so, then the person hasn’t changed in relevant ways and will continue to deserve blame for the past action. But a person who has changed may not be deserving of blame over time. The reformed murderer Red, played by Morgan Freeman, in the 1994 film, <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0111161/">“The Shawshank Redemption,”</a> is one of my favorite examples. After decades in the Shawshank Penitentiary, Red the old man hardly resembles the teenager that committed the murder. </p>
<p>If this is right, then figuring out whether a person deserves blame for a past action is more complex than simply determining if that individual did, in fact, commit the past action. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/239020/original/file-20181002-101576-1vd0qiu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/239020/original/file-20181002-101576-1vd0qiu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=400&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/239020/original/file-20181002-101576-1vd0qiu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=400&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/239020/original/file-20181002-101576-1vd0qiu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=400&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/239020/original/file-20181002-101576-1vd0qiu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=503&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/239020/original/file-20181002-101576-1vd0qiu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=503&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/239020/original/file-20181002-101576-1vd0qiu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=503&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Brett Kavanaugh giving his opening statement before the Senate Judiciary Committee.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/APTOPIX-Supreme-Court-Kavanaugh/6145486a413648efa4c278453d907898/3/1">Saul Loeb/Pool Image via AP</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In the case of Brett Kavanaugh, some commentators have, in effect, argued that his recent Senate testimony displayed the persisting character of an <a href="https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/09/brett-kavanaugh-sexual-assault-hearing-teenager.html">“aggressive, entitled teen,”</a> although there are those <a href="https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2018/09/30/graham_explains_anger_at_kavanaugh_hearing_this_was_about_delaying_the_nomination.html">who disagree</a>. </p>
<p>What I argue is that when confronted with the issue of moral responsibility for actions long since passed, we need to not only consider the nature of the past transgression but also how far and how deeply the individual has changed.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/103982/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andrew Khoury ne travaille pas, ne conseille pas, ne possède pas de parts, ne reçoit pas de fonds d&#39;une organisation qui pourrait tirer profit de cet article, et n&#39;a déclaré aucune autre affiliation que son poste universitaire.</span></em></p>Whether the sins of our past stay with us forever has become a pertinent question of our time. A philosopher argues we don't need to carry our past burdens – although there are some moral conditions.Andrew Khoury, Instructor of Philosophy, Arizona State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1037252018-09-24T10:22:27Z2018-09-24T10:22:27ZMemories of trauma are unique because of how brains and bodies respond to threat<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/237617/original/file-20180923-129844-ab10wp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;rect=838%2C225%2C3841%2C2793&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=496&amp;fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A traumatic memory can be near impossible to shake.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/0lD4hF1fBv0">Carolina Heza/Unsplash</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Most of what you experience leaves no trace in your memory. Learning new information often requires a lot of effort and repetition – picture studying for a tough exam or mastering the tasks of a new job. It’s easy to forget what you’ve learned, and recalling details of the past can sometimes be challenging.</p>
<p>But some past experiences can keep haunting you for years. Life-threatening events – things like getting mugged or escaping from a fire – can be impossible to forget, even if you make every possible effort. Recent developments in the Supreme Court nomination hearings and the associated <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-45621124">#WhyIDidntReport action on social media</a> have rattled the public and raised questions about the nature, role and impact of these kinds of traumatic memories.</p>
<p>Leaving politics aside, what do psychiatrists and neuroscientists <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=4RT_XMgAAAAJ&amp;hl=en&amp;oi=ao">like me</a> understand about how past traumas can remain present and persistent in our lives through memories?</p>
<h2>Bodies respond automatically to threat</h2>
<p>Imagine facing extreme danger, such as being held at gunpoint. Right away, your heart rate increases. Your arteries constrict, directing more blood to your muscles, which tense up in preparation for a possible life-or-death struggle. Perspiration increases, to cool you down and improve gripping capability on palms and feet for added traction for escape. In some situations, when the threat is overwhelming, you may freeze and be unable to move.</p>
<p>Threat responses are often accompanied by a range of sensations and feelings. Senses may sharpen, contributing to amplified detection and response to threat. You may experience tingling or numbness in your limbs, as well as shortness of breath, chest pain, feelings of weakness, fainting or dizziness. Your thoughts may be racing or, conversely, you may experience a lack of thoughts and feel detached from reality. Terror, panic, helplessness, lack of control or chaos may take over.</p>
<p>These reactions are automatic and cannot be stopped once they’re initiated, regardless of later feelings of guilt or shame about a lack of fight or flight. </p>
<h2>Brains have two routes to respond to danger</h2>
<p>Biological research over the past few decades has made significant progress in understanding how the brain responds to threat. Defense responses are controlled by neural systems that human beings have inherited from our distant evolutionary ancestors.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/237615/original/file-20180923-129853-1u53a7g.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/237615/original/file-20180923-129853-1u53a7g.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/237615/original/file-20180923-129853-1u53a7g.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=341&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/237615/original/file-20180923-129853-1u53a7g.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=341&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/237615/original/file-20180923-129853-1u53a7g.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=341&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/237615/original/file-20180923-129853-1u53a7g.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=429&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/237615/original/file-20180923-129853-1u53a7g.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=429&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/237615/original/file-20180923-129853-1u53a7g.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=429&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The amygdala – in red – is involved in emotion processing.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Amygdala.png">Life Science Databases</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>One of the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2005.09.025">key players is the amygdala</a>, a structure located deep in the medial temporal lobe, one on each side of the brain. It processes sensory threat information and sends outputs to other brain sites, such as the hypothalamus, which is responsible for the release of stress hormones, or brain stem areas, which control levels of alertness and automatic behaviors, including immobility or freezing.</p>
<p>Research in animals and more recently in people suggests the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-60327-329-9_2">existence of two possible routes</a> by which the amygdala receives sensory information. The first route, called the low road, provides the amygdala with a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/nn.4324">rapid, but imprecise, signal</a> from the sensory thalamus. This circuit is believed to be responsible for the immediate, unconscious responses to threat.</p>
<p>The high road is <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fnsys.2015.00101">routed through the cortical sensory areas</a> and delivers more complex and detailed representations of threat to the amygdala. Researchers believe the high road is involved in processing the aspects of threats <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1619316114">of which a person is consciously aware</a>.</p>
<p>The two-roads model explains how responses to a threat can be initiated even <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-60327-329-9_2">before you become consciously aware of it</a>. The amygdala is interconnected with a network of brain areas, including the hippocampus, the prefrontal cortex and others, all of which process different aspects of defense behaviors. For example, you hear a loud, sharp bang and you momentarily freeze – this would be a low road-initiated response. You notice somebody with a gun, immediately scan your surroundings to locate a hiding spot and escape route – these actions wouldn’t be possible without the high road being involved.</p>
<h2>Two kinds of memories</h2>
<p>Traumatic memories are intensely powerful and come in two varieties.</p>
<p>When people talk about memories, most of the time we refer to conscious or explicit memories. However, the brain is capable of encoding distinct memories in parallel for the same event – some of them explicit and some implicit or unconscious.</p>
<p>An experimental example of implicit memories is <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1400335111">threat conditioning</a>. In the lab, a harmful stimulus such as an electric shock, which triggers innate threat responses, is paired with a neutral stimulus, such as an image, sound or smell. The brain forms a strong association between the neutral stimulus and the threat response. Now this image, sound or smell acquires the ability to initiate automatic unconscious threat reactions – in the absence of the electric shock.</p>
<p>It’s like Pavlov’s dogs salivating when they hear the dinner bell, but these conditioned threat responses are typically formed after a single pairing between the actual threatening or harmful stimulus and a neutral stimulus, and last for life. Not surprisingly, they support survival. For example, after getting burned on a hot stove, a child will likely steer clear of the stove in order to avoid the harmful heat and pain. </p>
<p>Studies show that the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-010814-014954">amygdala is critical</a> for encoding and storing associations between a harmful and neutral stimuli, and that stress hormones and mediators – such as cortisol and norepinephrine – play an important role in the formation of threat associations.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/237616/original/file-20180923-129853-hg8k6v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/237616/original/file-20180923-129853-hg8k6v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/237616/original/file-20180923-129853-hg8k6v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=338&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/237616/original/file-20180923-129853-hg8k6v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=338&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/237616/original/file-20180923-129853-hg8k6v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=338&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/237616/original/file-20180923-129853-hg8k6v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=424&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/237616/original/file-20180923-129853-hg8k6v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=424&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/237616/original/file-20180923-129853-hg8k6v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=424&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">One detail – the buzz of streetlights, a truck’s squealing tires – can trigger the memory of a traumatic accident.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/9UxW_MqBGe4">Ian Valerio/Unsplash</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Researchers believe <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2015.06.008">traumatic memories are a kind of conditioned threat response</a>. For the survivor of a bike accident, the sight of a fast approaching truck resembling the one that crashed into them may cause the heart to race and skin to sweat. For the survivor of a sexual assault, the sight of the perpetrator or someone who looks similar may cause trembling, a feeling of hopelessness and an urge to hide, run away or fight. These responses are initiated regardless of whether they come with conscious recollections of trauma.</p>
<p>Conscious memories of trauma are encoded by various sites in the brain which process different aspects of experience. Explicit memories of trauma reflect the terror of the original experience and may be less organized than memories acquired under less stressful conditions. Typically they’re <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2018.00311">more vivid, more intense and more persistent</a>.</p>
<h2>After the memories are made</h2>
<p>Memories are biological phenomena and as such are dynamic. Exposure to cues that trigger the recall or retrieval of traumatic memories <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/nn1871">activates the neural systems that are storing the memories</a>. This includes electrical activation of the neural circuits, as well as underlying intracellular processes. </p>
<p>Reactivated memories are susceptible to modification. The character and direction of this modification depends on the circumstances of the person recalling the memory. Retrieval of implicit or explicit traumatic memories is usually associated with high levels of stress. Stress hormones act on the activated brain circuits and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/da.20803">may strengthen the original memory</a> for trauma through a phenomenon known as memory reconsolidation.</p>
<p>There are <a href="http://www.traumacenter.org/products/pdf_files/ISTSS_Complex_Trauma_Treatment_Guidelines_2012_Cloitre,Courtois,Ford,Green,Alexander,Briere,Herman,Lanius,Stolbach,Spinazzola,van%20der%20Kolk,van%20der%20Hart.pdf">clinical strategies to help people heal from emotional trauma</a>. One critical factor is the sense of safety. Retrieval of traumatic memories under safe conditions when levels of stress are relatively low and under control enables the individual to update or reorganize the trauma experience. It’s possible to link the trauma to other experiences and diminish its destructive impact. Psychologists call this <a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/e/9781317778011/chapters/10.4324%2F9781315805597-8">post-traumatic growth</a>.</p>
<p>It is an ethical imperative to consider the circumstances under which traumatic memories are recalled, whether in the course of therapy, during police investigations, court hearings or public testimonies. Recalling trauma may be a part of the healing process or may lead to re-traumatization, persistence and continued detrimental effects from traumatic memories.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/103725/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jacek Debiec receives funding from the University of Michigan, the NIH and Brain and the Behavior Research Foundation. </span></em></p>Two neural systems record traumatic memories, meaning they can be remembered in both conscious and unconscious ways.Jacek Debiec, Assistant Professor / Department of Psychiatry; Assistant Research Professor / Molecular & Behavioral Neuroscience Institute, University of MichiganLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1029502018-09-20T14:34:22Z2018-09-20T14:34:22ZDeciphering how memory works in the brain – at the level of individual cells<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/237308/original/file-20180920-129847-3ffw8y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=496&amp;fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption"></span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">whitehoune/Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Say you meet an old friend at the train station. She is standing about a metre ahead of you, and on the tracks to your right a train has just pulled into the station. Behind your friend you see a bakery. We often remember such scenes in vivid detail. But exactly how we do that by forming mental images has long been a bit of a mystery. </p>
<p>Many researchers liken someone’s recall of an episode from their life (episodic memory) to re-experiencing of the original event. What is unclear is how this process could be realised in the brain, at the level of single brain cells (neurons). Now our new study, published in <a href="https://elifesciences.org/articles/33752">eLife</a>, has come up with a suggestion.</p>
<p>It is possible to measure the activity of single brain cells. Experiments with rodents have shown that certain cells are active whenever an animal is located at a particular spot in the environment. These so-called “place cells” therefore <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-rats-in-a-maze-can-teach-us-about-our-sense-of-direction-40779">represent an animal’s position</a> in a given environment.</p>
<p>Similarly, other brain cells fire whenever there is an environmental boundary –such as the walls of a room – at a certain distance and direction from the animal. Such findings <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2677716/">have given us clues</a> as to how spatial relations are represented in the brain. As you meet your friend at the train station, cells in your brain that represent your location relative to the train station should be active. Similarly, other cells would signal the presence of “objects” (like your friend, the bakery and train) at given distances and directions from you. Yet other cells signal the identity of these items. However, it is not known how all these cells might work in concert to realise mental processes involved in perceiving, remembering and even imagining life events.</p>
<p>On a more abstract level, all these elements – your friend, the bakery and the train – and their spatial arrangement collectively form what psychologists refer to as “a scene”. The term “scene construction” designates all the mental processes involved in perceiving, remembering and even imagining scenes. So knowing how the different cells work together would allow these abstract notions to be understood at the level of single cells. </p>
<p>The area of the brain <a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-what-happens-in-the-hippocampus-32589">known as the hippocampus</a> has long been known to be crucial for memory. However, patients with hippocampal damage have been reported to also have difficulties imagining coherent spatial scenes – suggesting that imagining spatial experiences is linked to memory. Subsequently, brain scans have shown that imagination of new experiences and recall of memories do engage overlapping brain areas. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/237277/original/file-20180920-129856-1b1pqd2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/237277/original/file-20180920-129856-1b1pqd2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=274&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/237277/original/file-20180920-129856-1b1pqd2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=274&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/237277/original/file-20180920-129856-1b1pqd2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=274&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/237277/original/file-20180920-129856-1b1pqd2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=344&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/237277/original/file-20180920-129856-1b1pqd2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=344&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/237277/original/file-20180920-129856-1b1pqd2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=344&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Activity in the hippocampus.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Brain imaging techniques, however, typically identify areas of the brain that can contain millions of cells, comprising many individual networks potentially representing different information. It is therefore difficult to tell how individual networks of cells behave based on brain scans.</p>
<h2>Modelling memory</h2>
<p>Our goal was to pull together all the evidence at the level of single neurons and use it to model the encoding and recall of scenes which contained meaningful items (for example your friend at the train station). To do this we assigned specific roles to a large number of spatially selective cells (such as place cells), linking them all together via synaptic connections in the model.</p>
<p>The case that spatially selective brain cells are involved in memory has been made before, but relating them to our experience revealed an interesting discrepancy. Spatially selective cells represent the elements of a scene relative to the scene itself. That is, spatially selective brain cells code for our location and for the locations of scene elements in “world-centered” terms. For simplicity we can liken this reference frame to compass directions – with the train as being south-east of the bakery because this is true, irrespective of our own position and orientation. </p>
<p>However, our direct spatial experience as we perceive a scene is “egocentric” in nature. That is, we perceive the train as being to our right and our friend as being ahead of ourselves. So how do neurons in and near the hippocampus come to represent environmental boundaries and objects in a world-centered format as we memorise a scene? </p>
<p>Memorising the layout of a scene in world-centered terms has the benefit of only needing to memorise one set of related information – such as the train being south-east of the bakery, irrespective of our orientation (the train could be on our right or on our left depending on which way we are facing).</p>
<h2>Transforming neural representations</h2>
<p>Our model shows that this transformation (from egocentric to world-centered) could be performed by another network of spatially selective neurons. Neurons representing the location of objects in the egocentric frame of reference (ahead, left, right) would drive cells in the transformation network, which in turn would activate cells that constitute the world-centered representations. Strengthening connections between these latter cells then corresponds to laying down the memory in long-term storage.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/237278/original/file-20180920-129871-jky7te.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/237278/original/file-20180920-129871-jky7te.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=292&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/237278/original/file-20180920-129871-jky7te.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=292&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/237278/original/file-20180920-129871-jky7te.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=292&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/237278/original/file-20180920-129871-jky7te.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=367&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/237278/original/file-20180920-129871-jky7te.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=367&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/237278/original/file-20180920-129871-jky7te.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=367&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Left: an animal’s trajectory (black lines) as it explores a square box. Green dots indicate locations where the place cells was active. Right: colour-coded regions of activity in the square environment (blue means silent, red means maximal activity).</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Images reproduced from Barry C, Bush D. From A to Z: a potential role for grid cells in spatial navigation. Neural systems &amp; circuits. 2012 Dec;2(1):6.</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Crucially, this transformation circuit would also act in reverse – neurons which encode long-term memories could reactivate cells that represented object locations in egocentric terms. In other words, an original event could be re-experienced at a later time. The memory model therefore implements a form of imagery, where the cells which were originally driven by perception at the time of the original event are later reactivated from memory. Importantly the exact content of the reconstruction depends on the imagined heading. If the transformation circuit activated cells representing the train being to your left instead of to your right, we would be imagining facing south and not north. </p>
<p>The model allowed us to simulate brain damage in both humans and rodents, investigating different aspects of amnesia. For instance, a lesion to the transformation circuit can leave us unable to recall a memory. Interestingly our model suggests that the memory is technically still present in and near the hippocampus, but the subject would be unable to reconstruct a mental image of it. </p>
<p>While it is too early to simulate specific diseases such as Alzheimer’s, the model may provide a good starting point to deduce how diffuse brain damage – spanning multiple brain areas with distinct functions and containing different spatially selective cells – might affect cognition.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/102950/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andrej Bicanski does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A new study offers an explanation as to how we remember events by forming mental images.Andrej Bicanski, Research Associate in Computational Neuroscience, UCLLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1032532018-09-19T12:37:01Z2018-09-19T12:37:01ZThe 'real you' is a myth – we constantly create false memories to achieve the identity we want<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/236695/original/file-20180917-158234-1ijbrhw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=496&amp;fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Vlasov Yevhenii/Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>We all want other people to “get us” and appreciate us for who we really are. In striving to achieve such relationships, we typically assume that there is a “real me”. But how do we actually know who we are? It may seem simple – we are a product of our life experiences, which we can be easily accessed through our memories of the past. </p>
<p>Indeed, substantial research <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/741938206?src=recsys">has shown</a> that memories shape a person’s identity. People with profound forms of amnesia typically also lose their identity – as <a href="https://www.nybooks.com/articles/1984/02/16/the-lost-mariner/">beautifully described</a> by the late writer and neurologist <a href="https://theconversation.com/celebrating-oliver-sacks-romantic-science-and-a-life-now-ending-42242">Oliver Sacks</a> in his case study of 49-year-old Jimmy G, the “lost mariner”, who struggles to find meaning as he cannot remember anything that’s happened after his late adolescence.</p>
<p>But it turns out that identity is often not a truthful representation of who we are anyway – even if we have an intact memory. Research shows that we <a href="http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.621.9717&amp;rep=rep1&amp;type=pdf">don’t actually access</a> and use all available memories when creating personal narratives. It is becoming increasingly clear that, at any given moment, we unawarely tend to choose and pick what to remember.</p>
<p>When we create personal narratives, we rely on a psychological screening mechanism, dubbed the monitoring system, which labels certain mental concepts as memories, but not others. Concepts that are rather vivid and rich in detail and emotion – episodes we can re-experience – are more likely to be marked as memories. These then pass a “plausibility test” carried out by a similar monitoring system which tells whether the events fit within the general personal history. For example, if we remember flying unaided in vivid detail, we know straight away that it cannot be real. </p>
<p>But what is selected as a personal memory also needs to fit the current idea that we have of ourselves. Let’s suppose you have always been a very kind person, but after a very distressing experience you have developed a strong aggressive trait that now suits you. Not only has your behaviour changed, your personal narrative has too. If you are now asked to describe yourself, you might include past events previously omitted from your narrative – for example, instances in which you acted aggressively.</p>
<h2>False memories</h2>
<p>And this is only half of the story. The other half has to do with the truthfulness of the memories that each time are chosen and picked to become part of the personal narrative. Even when we correctly rely on our memories, they can be highly inaccurate or outright false: we often <a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-what-are-false-memories-49454">make up memories</a> of events that never happened.</p>
<p>Remembering is not like playing a video from the past in your mind – it is a highly reconstructive process that depends on knowledge, self image, needs and goals. Indeed, brain imaging studies <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1995661/">have shown</a> that personal memory does not have just one location in the brain, it is based on an “autobiographical memory brain network” which comprises many separate areas.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/237076/original/file-20180919-158219-1rtcb8p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/237076/original/file-20180919-158219-1rtcb8p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=459&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/237076/original/file-20180919-158219-1rtcb8p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=459&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/237076/original/file-20180919-158219-1rtcb8p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=459&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/237076/original/file-20180919-158219-1rtcb8p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=577&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/237076/original/file-20180919-158219-1rtcb8p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=577&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/237076/original/file-20180919-158219-1rtcb8p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=577&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Many parts of the brain are involved in creating personal memories.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/conceptual-image-man-side-profile-showing-311949818?src=hTawT6ABsJ2No30gQrXQ8Q-1-24">Triff/shuttestock</a></span>
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<p>A crucial area is the frontal lobes, which are in charge of integrating all the information received into an event that needs to be meaningful – both in the sense of lacking impossible, incongruent elements within it, but also in the sense of fitting the idea the individual remembering has of themselves. If not congruent or meaningful, the memory is either discarded or undergoes changes, with information added or deleted.</p>
<p>Memories are therefore very malleable, they can be distorted and changed easily, as <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/%28SICI%291099-0720%28199904%2913%3A2%3C125%3A%3AAID-ACP560%3E3.0.CO%3B2-5">many studies in our lab have shown</a>. For example, we have found that suggestions and imagination can create memories that are very detailed and emotional while <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12661683">still completely false</a>. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Piaget">Jean Piaget</a>, a famous developmental psychologist, remembered all his life in vivid detail an event in which he was abducted with his nanny – she often told him about it. After many years, she confessed to having made the story up. At that point, Piaget stopped believing in the memory, but it nevertheless remained as vivid as it was before.</p>
<h2>Memory manipulation</h2>
<p>We have assessed the frequency and nature of these false and no-longer-believed memories in a series of studies. Examining a very large sample across several countries, we discovered that they <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20689053">are actually rather common</a>. What’s more, as for Piaget, they all feel very much like real memories. </p>
<p>This <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0032998">remained true</a> even when we successfully created false memories in the lab using doctored videos suggesting that participants had performed certain actions. We later told them that these memories never actually happened. At this point, the participants stopped believing in the memory but reported that the characteristics of it made them feel as if it were true.</p>
<p>A common source of false memories are photos from the past. In a new study, we have <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/20445911.2018.1426588">discovered</a> that we are particularly likely to create false memories when we see an image of someone who is just about to perform an action. That’s because such scenes trigger our minds to imagine the action being carried out over time.</p>
<p>But is all this a bad thing? For a number of years, researchers have focused on the negatives of this process. For example, there are fears that therapy could create <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3277840/False-memories-fears-controversial-techniques-used-charity-supporting-Watson-s-abuse-victims.html">false memories of historical sexual abuse</a>, leading to false accusations. There have also been heated discussions about how people who suffer from mental health problems – for example, depression – can be <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3292784/">biased to remember</a> very negative events. Some self-help books therefore make suggestions about how to obtain a more accurate sense of self. For example, we could reflect on our biases and get feedback from others. But it is important to remember that other people may have false memories about us, too.</p>
<p>Crucially, there are upsides to our malleable memory. Picking and choosing memories is actually the norm, guided by self-enhancing biases that lead us to rewrite our past so it resembles what we feel and believe now. Inaccurate memories and narratives are necessary, resulting from the need to maintain a positive, up-to-date sense of self.</p>
<p>My own personal narrative is that I am a person who has always loved science, who has lived in many countries and met many people. But I might have made it up, at least in part. My current enjoyment for my job, and frequent travels, might taint my memories. Ultimately, there may have been times when I didn’t love science and wanted to settle down permanently. But clearly it doesn’t matter, does it? What matters is that I am happy and know what I want now.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/103253/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Giuliana Mazzoni receives funding from ESRC, British Academy, Canadian SSHRC, Leverhulme Trust, Wellcome Trust.</span></em></p>Research sheds light on how we pick and choose among distorted memories to create our identity. But is that a bad thing?Giuliana Mazzoni, Professor of Psychology, University of HullLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/959532018-09-04T09:59:58Z2018-09-04T09:59:58ZWhat is your first memory – and did it ever really happen?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/229842/original/file-20180730-106524-1vc7kck.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=496&amp;fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">&#39;Will I remember this?&#39;</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/download/confirm/260409452?src=z1N-PPLarzr_cGDbWoHE5Q-3-5&amp;size=medium_jpg">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>I can remember being a baby. I recall being in a vast room inside a doctor’s surgery. I was passed to a nurse and then placed in cold metal scales to be weighed. I was always aware that this memory was unusual because it was from so early in my life, but I thought that perhaps I just had a really good memory, or that perhaps other people could remember being so young, too. </p>
<p>What is the earliest event that you can remember? How old do you think you are in this memory? How do you experience the memory? Is it vivid or vague? Positive or negative? Are you re-experiencing the memory as it originally happened, through your own eyes, or are you watching yourself “acting” in the memory?</p>
<p>In our recent <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0956797618778831">study</a>, we asked more than 6,000 people of all ages to do the same, to tell us what their first autobiographical memory was, how old they were when the event happened, to rate how emotional and vivid it was and to report what perspective the memory was “seen” from. We found that on average people reported their first memory occurring during the first half of the third year of their lives (3.24 years to be precise). This matches well with other <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10932795">studies</a> that have investigated the age of early memories.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="http://theconversation.com/why-cant-we-remember-our-early-childhood-62325">Why can't we remember our early childhood?</a>
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<p>What does this mean for my memory of being a baby then? Perhaps I do just have a really good memory and can remember those early months of life. Indeed, in our study, we found that around 40% of participants reported remembering events from the age of two or below – and 14% of people recalled memories from age one and below. However, psychological research suggests that memories occurring below the age of three are highly unusual – and indeed, highly improbable.</p>
<h2>The origin of memory</h2>
<p>Researchers who have investigated memory development suggest that the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0273229703000480">neurological processes</a> needed to form autobiographical memories are not fully developed until between the ages of three and four years. Other research has suggested that memories are linked to <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0010027710000752">language development</a>. Language allows children to <a href="http://psycnet.apa.org/record/1996-97420-013">share and discuss the past with others</a>, enabling memories to be organised in a personal autobiography.</p>
<p>So how can I remember being a baby? And why did 2,487 people from our study remember events that they dated from the age of two years and younger? </p>
<p>One explanation is that people simply gave incorrect estimates of their age in the memory. After all, unless confirmatory evidence is present, guesswork is all we have when it comes to dating memories from across our lives, including the very earliest. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/229844/original/file-20180730-106517-v4hvil.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/229844/original/file-20180730-106517-v4hvil.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=401&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229844/original/file-20180730-106517-v4hvil.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=401&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229844/original/file-20180730-106517-v4hvil.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=401&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229844/original/file-20180730-106517-v4hvil.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=504&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229844/original/file-20180730-106517-v4hvil.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=504&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229844/original/file-20180730-106517-v4hvil.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=504&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Was that really what your teddy looked like?</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/download/confirm/569810575?src=w6AOXv2BUXD5pXtZmlvK3g-1-14&amp;size=medium_jpg">Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>But if incorrect dating explained the presence of these memories, we would expect that they would be about similar events to those memories from ages three and above. But this was not the case – we found that very early reported memories were of events and objects from infancy (pram, cot, learning to walk) whereas older memories were of things typical of childhood (toys, school, holidays). This finding meant that these two groups of memories were qualitatively different and ruled out the misdating explanation. </p>
<p>If research tells us that these very early memories are highly unlikely, and we have ruled out a misdating explanation, then why do people, including me, have them? </p>
<h2>Pure fiction?</h2>
<p>We concluded that these memories are likely to be fictional – that is, that they never in fact occurred. Perhaps, rather than recalling an experienced event, we recall imagery derived from photographs, home movies, shared family stories or events and activities that frequently happen in infancy. These facts are then, we suggest, linked with some fragmentary visual imagery and are combined together to form the basis of these fictitious early memories. Over time, this combination of imagery and fact begins to be experienced as a memory.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="http://theconversation.com/serial-your-memory-can-play-tricks-on-you-heres-how-34827">Serial: your memory can play tricks on you – here’s how</a>
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<p>Although 40% of participants in our study retrieved these fictitious memories, they are not altogether surprising. <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10789197">Contemporary theories of memory</a> highlight the constructive nature of memory; memories are not “records” of events, but rather psychological representations of the self in the past. </p>
<p>In other words, all of our memories contain some degree of fiction – indeed, this is the sign of a healthy memory system in action. But perhaps, for reasons not yet known, we have a psychological need to fictionalise memories from times of our lives that we are unable to remember. For now, these “stories” remain a mystery.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/95953/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A new study found that 14% of people report a memory from age one or below. They're likely fictitious.Lucy V Justice, Lecturer in Psychology, Nottingham Trent UniversityMartin Conway, Professor of Cognitive Psychology, City, University of LondonShazia Akhtar, Postdoctoral researcher, University of BradfordLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1013302018-08-20T20:01:27Z2018-08-20T20:01:27ZWhat do your earliest childhood memories say about you?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/232239/original/file-20180816-2915-7r7ijc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=496&amp;fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The experience &quot;this happened to me&quot; is stronger than &quot;this happened&quot; in memory formation. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/epicharmus/8255384099/in/photolist-dzv15B-23r52Sj-arKGzH-e3Dd5T-8CCzkD-arKFNZ-UL7g4r-dDgv8A-bUMh3E-arKFJp-dzdPdG-arKFWv-atiVTy-bUMt4b-dDb8g2-jw9gCY-arKFZn-bUMehL-bUMfAs-jwzh4D-arKFvT-kWDya-arKFSx-EYcWsg-kqWrM-TvgpUp-kr2xT-f3xwEe-kr2JG-f3MK1f-bungK3-egsTRM-cxpo5J-gzNht7-e3Dczr-f31uDg-cxpnA7-QPZPds-7ZciMi-dWkseN-e3DdaD-dawu2f-ZQRR-o7wLZo-b4WLbK-egsU14-6PNVbR-e3DdeD-f3xwX8-dWksuw">epicharmus/flickr </a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>We experience thousands of events across childhood, and yet as adults we recall only a handful. Some might be “firsts” (our first ice cream, our first day at school), or significant life events (the birth of a sibling, moving house). Others are surprisingly trivial.</p>
<p>So, what do your earliest childhood memories say about you? Do they reflect your early skill for remembering, your interests, or your individual experiences? </p>
<p>The answer to all three questions is yes – but this is not the whole story. Although we sometimes see memory as a video camera, recording our lives accurately and without bias, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3183109/">this is a myth</a>. </p>
<p>Instead, our childhood memories are intricately shaped by our family and culture.</p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="http://theconversation.com/what-outcomes-parents-should-expect-from-early-childhood-education-and-care-94731">What outcomes parents should expect from early childhood education and care</a>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/232591/original/file-20180819-30581-fzaoma.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/232591/original/file-20180819-30581-fzaoma.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=450&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/232591/original/file-20180819-30581-fzaoma.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=450&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/232591/original/file-20180819-30581-fzaoma.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=450&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/232591/original/file-20180819-30581-fzaoma.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=566&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/232591/original/file-20180819-30581-fzaoma.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=566&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/232591/original/file-20180819-30581-fzaoma.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=566&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Most people don’t remember events that took place before the age of 3-4 years.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/mikecogh/476820270/in/photolist-J8Q49-FXob6T-7TQn6i-bnJDcd-pLkscD-dH5xGk-GyKKGn-b6Qt8P-nPf2ev-7TJoRD-65aAEv-6M5tF6-dH5sbR-cXevQq-dadRt3-8UqS7g-bwui65-nwKjro-ddidiW-62hQVc-9aXYCS-ENbqzb-i9kx-FYrC2t-GwnQ1E-9hyR5b-X9Hr9R-GwoGyo-nP5HeN-bkbgC1-9UxZ4b-c7jgyC-b6Qy8p-b6Qs8z-2xVhWU-9hGMxc-fdgbUU-9gH8hH-hhsZ9s-hkDSGP-hgdGL1-ahnBA9-jHfwS-cwP2bE-94uXy5-2EJPDS-pLks3k-c4KU8o-94nw4Z-25zwZ1a">mikecogh/flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Our first memories</h2>
<p>If you can’t remember life as an infant, you’re not alone. </p>
<p>As adults looking back to childhood, we cannot typically recall anything before <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09658210802077082?src=recsys">age 3-4 years</a>. This phenomenon is known as <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/741938173?src=recsys">infantile amnesia</a>. </p>
<p>Although some individuals report very early memories of being walked in their pram as a baby, or falling asleep in a cot, these memories are likely to be <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0956797618778831">fictional</a>.</p>
<p>One of the most important developments for the onset of memory is language. Research shows that language is needed not just for sharing our experiences, but for encoding them. </p>
<p>For example, young children <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/1467-9280.00442">invited to use</a> a fictional “magic shrinking machine” could only recall this one year later if they had the appropriate vocabulary at the time of the event. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/232595/original/file-20180820-30602-1jzhp60.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/232595/original/file-20180820-30602-1jzhp60.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=400&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/232595/original/file-20180820-30602-1jzhp60.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=400&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/232595/original/file-20180820-30602-1jzhp60.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=400&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/232595/original/file-20180820-30602-1jzhp60.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=503&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/232595/original/file-20180820-30602-1jzhp60.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=503&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/232595/original/file-20180820-30602-1jzhp60.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=503&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Vocabulary is an important component of memory formation.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/3CTufp-cpzo">Priscilla Du Preez/Unsplash</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We also know that bilingual adults who immigrated as children recall early memories <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1354067X0064001">in the language</a> they spoke at the time the memory was formed.</p>
<p>In addition to language, children <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9243962">must also develop</a> a coherent sense of self, or of “who I am”. This emerging development allows them to pin events to a personal story that is continuous across time. The sense that “this happened” develops into a deeper understanding that “this happened to me”.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="http://theconversation.com/learning-languages-early-is-key-to-making-australia-more-multilingual-99085">Learning languages early is key to making Australia more multilingual</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Family factors</h2>
<p>While the development of language and sense of self enable our earliest childhood memories to form, family factors shape their contents.</p>
<p>Within families, parents reminisce with their children multiple times a day – reliving family holidays, for example, or bonding over sibling hijinks, or reflecting on past transgressions to discuss the lessons learned. Interestingly, however, there are strong individual differences in the way they do so. </p>
<p>Some parents use a <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17107447">highly “elaborative” reminiscing style</a>: asking questions and providing event detail and structure in a way that scaffolds and encourages the child’s own contribution. Others are less elaborative. </p>
<p>Some parents also focus particularly on <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16802895">emotional content</a> (“She was really sad! Why did she start crying?”), while others focus more on factual details. </p>
<p>These individual differences have important implications, with children eventually coming to adopt the personalised style of their parents: first during <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15248370903155825">shared</a> reminiscing conversations, and later in their <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2007.01058.x">own independent memories</a>.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="http://theconversation.com/parents-can-promote-gender-equality-and-help-prevent-violence-against-women-heres-how-99836">Parents can promote gender equality and help prevent violence against women. Here's how</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>What style of parent are you?</h2>
<p>Here’s an example of a conversation between a highly elaborative mother and her pre-school aged child. </p>
<p><em>Mother: You and Daddy put the Christmas tree up together, and then you put on decorations! What decorations did you put on?</em></p>
<p><em>Child: Um… the Christmas balls!</em></p>
<p><em>Mother: That’s right! Daddy bought Christmas balls and stars to hang on the tree. What colours were they?</em></p>
<p><em>Child: Red and gold.</em></p>
<p><em>Mother: Red and gold. Pretty red balls, and gold stars.</em></p>
<p><em>Child: And there was the paper circles too.</em></p>
<p>In contrast, below is a conversation between a less elaborative mother and her preschool aged child. </p>
<p><em>Mother: I’m going to ask you about your preschool Christmas concert. Was that good?</em></p>
<p><em>Child: Yeah</em></p>
<p><em>Mother: What happened there?</em></p>
<p><em>Child: Dad came</em></p>
<p><em>Mother: Yes, but what happened?</em></p>
<p><em>Child: I don’t know.</em></p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/232592/original/file-20180820-30587-v94w6w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/232592/original/file-20180820-30587-v94w6w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=450&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/232592/original/file-20180820-30587-v94w6w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=450&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/232592/original/file-20180820-30587-v94w6w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=450&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/232592/original/file-20180820-30587-v94w6w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=566&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/232592/original/file-20180820-30587-v94w6w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=566&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/232592/original/file-20180820-30587-v94w6w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=566&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">It’s unlikely you remember your first Christmas – but you may have heard stories about it.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/sneakerdog/4222549929/in/photolist-7r8EYZ-bujb7T-bbNvnp-dFLYEf-5L2AKD-qi3WA2-84eqc-ioWpBj-5LCpCa-qE6kba-9b79NY-iBLRkA-qi2459-5Mx1ut-7pRnfj-7t1ujC-91MRrQ-dJgFzB-5McK7j-hXiz5i-ioWoWm-7sW2Pt-4gBwJz-9b7mY3-ibDm8w-5LGKJJ-4j28mW-bujzwB-qCX31R-iEubYX-b8xbL2-b3Wq3n-dy8d1F-7XHdLM-b9Fh6a-iDdJ3S-ccTJeo-5SRP21-pVR7sf-bVae9Z-dGDnJE-7EL7yZ-dEuQAf-7QGa4-4hYY1G-7kUips-4fLcHv-7EMbjk-dHkNt1-vF4GQ">sneakerdog/flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Broader family structures and experiences also play a role. In Italy, children growing up in intergenerational households tend to have both <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22313421">earlier childhood memories and more childhood memories</a> than children growing up in traditional nuclear families. This probably occurs due to more opportunities to engage in rich and elaborative reminiscing conversations.</p>
<p>In contrast, parents and children experiencing depression may show a tendency for “<a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0273229711000116">overgeneral memory</a>” – that is, difficulty recalling specific memory details. Poorer quality parent-child reminiscing <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24219316">is related</a> to overgeneral memory among three- to six-year-olds.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="http://theconversation.com/essays-on-health-australia-is-failing-new-parents-with-conflicting-advice-its-urgent-we-get-it-right-77943">Essays on health: Australia is failing new parents with conflicting advice – it's urgent we get it right</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Cultural factors</h2>
<p>Just as our earliest childhood memories reflect our reminiscing conversations with our parents and our overarching family experiences, they also appear to reflect broader cultural practices and norms.</p>
<p>Consistent with the “individualist” values of Western culture, <a href="http://psycnet.apa.org/record/2001-01642-005">American college students’</a> earliest childhood memories are typically long, specific and self-focused. </p>
<p>Consistent with the “collectivist” values of Chinese culture, Chinese students’ earliest childhood memories are typically brief, and more likely to reference social responsibilities. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/232588/original/file-20180819-30593-167sqw5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/232588/original/file-20180819-30593-167sqw5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=400&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/232588/original/file-20180819-30593-167sqw5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=400&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/232588/original/file-20180819-30593-167sqw5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=400&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/232588/original/file-20180819-30593-167sqw5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=503&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/232588/original/file-20180819-30593-167sqw5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=503&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/232588/original/file-20180819-30593-167sqw5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=503&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Social responsibilities are emphasised in Chinese culture.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/56218409@N03/33728669663/in/photolist-Toufpi-7eUuks-eqMME1-2Wge1o-7wJa5b-8wcjZo-9EDgCW-pLmKHW-e81qbk-bn7sEj-cjBXam-26DyX1d-GMCHtX-cNot23-23CZh3f-23MZEC7-bvsH88-7Bh45o-dHb3tY-dHb7WU-bMfLnV-QNQWC4-21CFiCC-7qnHDb-26QwBWu-4EN3GB-frLXM9-8waAXK-dH5uDp-bA2jdF-SP2i7f-frLXK1-Sd64fD-aebixG-5NJWMb-poCBKK-2MAq9W-2MAmWy-4mZBHC-got1K-tSrN5s-aebm1s-gos1a-q1RjWn-6NCBLd-99xoWY-ae8yuz-2Mwa3M-gosZH-Sd64nc">56218409@N03/flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>American mothers are also <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2976551/">more likely</a> than Chinese mothers to focus on their child’s own personal emotional experiences when remembering together, and it is likely that these early parent-child conversations serve as a mechanism for imparting cultural norms.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="http://theconversation.com/how-childrens-picturebooks-can-disrupt-existing-language-hierarchies-96275">How children's picturebooks can disrupt existing language hierarchies</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>In New Zealand, where Māori culture includes a rich oral tradition in which stories are shared across generations, Māori mothers have been found to <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/27563470?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents">reminisce differently</a> to Pākehā (European New Zealand) mothers about important life events. When talking with their children about their own birth stories, for example, Māori mothers include more elaborations, more references to emotion, and more references to relational time. </p>
<p>Interestingly, Māori also have the earliest average age of first memory on record. At 2.5, these earliest memories occur a full year earlier than in some other groups.</p>
<p>So the research is clear: our earliest childhood memories are intricately shaped by our experiences within our own families and cultures. </p>
<p>The process of memory formation is nothing like a video camera.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/101330/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Penny Van Bergen has previously received funding from the Australian Research Council. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Amy Bird has received funding from the Health Research Council (New Zealand). </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rebecca Andrews does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>We sometimes see memory as a video camera, recording our lives accurately and without bias – but this is a myth. Instead, our childhood memories are intricately shaped by our family and culture.Penny Van Bergen, Senior Lecturer in Educational Psychology, Macquarie UniversityAmy Bird, Lecturer Clinical Psychology, University of WollongongRebecca Andrews, Lecturer in Early Childhood, Macquarie UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1016522018-08-16T10:57:46Z2018-08-16T10:57:46ZWhat lonely snails can tell us about the effects of stress on memory<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/232248/original/file-20180816-2906-62hzem.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=496&amp;fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The pond snail Lymnaea stagnalis.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/carapace-large-pond-snail-greenish-tinted-631272737?src=dr8eXmAOKY5TwUTy5sJjSA-1-75">Sergey Sonvar Nik/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In numerous different animals, cognitive ability, including learning and memory, is often negatively affected by stress. But not all individuals of a particular species are equally good at cognitive tasks to begin with, and they respond to the effects of stress in different ways.</p>
<p>Take pond snails – specifically <em>Lymnaea stagnalis</em> – for example. They, just like other animals (including humans), remember things about different aspects of their environment. They remember smells that are associated with good things to eat, for instance, as well as negative experiences which may be associated with the risk of being eaten themselves. But not all snails are equally good at remembering. Some snail populations, originating from different rivers or ditches, are much better at forming memories than others. </p>
<p>My own previous <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/srep10538">research</a> found that a 30-minute <a href="https://theconversation.com/forgetful-snails-could-tell-us-about-how-our-memories-work-20935">operant conditioning training session</a> – whereby a stimulus is applied each time an animal performs a specific behaviour, in this case a gentle poke – produces a memory of the stimulus lasting about three hours in snails from some populations, and 24 hours (which is long term memory for snails) in others. We also found that two 30-minute training sessions result in a memory lasting a day in snail populations with weak memories, and seven days in populations with strong memories. So it seems some populations are “smarter” than others when it comes to forming memories of the training.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/232259/original/file-20180816-2906-12e2i6d.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/232259/original/file-20180816-2906-12e2i6d.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=237&amp;fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/232259/original/file-20180816-2906-12e2i6d.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=450&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/232259/original/file-20180816-2906-12e2i6d.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=450&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/232259/original/file-20180816-2906-12e2i6d.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=450&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/232259/original/file-20180816-2906-12e2i6d.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=566&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/232259/original/file-20180816-2906-12e2i6d.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=566&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/232259/original/file-20180816-2906-12e2i6d.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=566&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">An escargatoire of pond snails.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Sarah Dalesman</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Other research that I worked on found that the “smart” pond snails also appear to be more robust to <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0032334">some types of stress</a>. When they are deprived of calcium in the water that they live in (which they need to build their shell), smart snails still form long-term memory following two training sessions. But long-term memory is blocked in snail populations which form a weak memory. </p>
<p>However, not all types of stress can be considered equal. Each type can have a different effect on an animal. In humans, for example, <a href="http://www.apa.org/helpcenter/stress-kinds.aspx">different types of stress</a> can cause short term emotional problems while others can lead to <a href="http://www.apa.org/helpcenter/stress-body.aspx">long term physical health issues</a>. And in snails, we have found that one type of stress – social isolation, or loneliness – can change the way that they form memories. </p>
<h2>Social isolation and snail stress</h2>
<p>While we often think of social isolation <a href="https://theconversation.com/loneliness-is-contagious-and-heres-how-to-beat-it-94376">as a human problem</a>, it can affect all types of animals, including snails. Snails’ reproduction is already known to be affected by social isolation. Snails are hermaphrodites (they have both male and female reproductive organs), and normally mate in both the male and female role when they meet a partner. But researchers have found that if they are isolated for a week they prefer to just mate <a href="http://jeb.biologists.org/content/jexbio/200/5/941.full.pdf">in the male role</a>. </p>
<p>For my <a href="http://rstb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/373/1756/20170291">recently published study</a>, I wanted to find out more about how social isolation affects snails, and in particular whether it affects their memory. I tested operant conditioning memory in eight different populations, both when they were grouped together and also following a week-long period of isolation. As found in my previous work, some of the snail populations formed weak memories when held in groups, while others formed strong memories.</p>
<p>Following isolation, the snails that formed weak memories appeared unaffected. They were still able to form memory equally as well as when they were in groups. However, the smart snails failed to form long-term memories when isolated. These snails appeared far more sensitive to the effects of being alone, so in isolated conditions the snails that normally formed the weaker memories appeared to be the smart ones.</p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/232260/original/file-20180816-2915-17jg67o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/232260/original/file-20180816-2915-17jg67o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=237&amp;fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/232260/original/file-20180816-2915-17jg67o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=526&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/232260/original/file-20180816-2915-17jg67o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=526&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/232260/original/file-20180816-2915-17jg67o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=526&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/232260/original/file-20180816-2915-17jg67o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=661&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/232260/original/file-20180816-2915-17jg67o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=661&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/232260/original/file-20180816-2915-17jg67o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=661&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A pond snail in isolation.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Sarah Dalesman</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This research raises two important considerations when looking at the cognitive differences among individuals of any species. First, that the social environment doesn’t affect all individuals in the same way. Not all will experience the same levels of stress when isolated. Second, that our conclusions about which individuals are “smart” may be highly dependent on the environment in which they are tested. </p>
<p>Though this study was focused on snails, it tells us a lot about memory in all kinds of other animals and humans, too. Snail memory is affected by environment in the same way as a lot of other species. For example, things that are beneficial to memory formation in mammals, such as plant flavonols found in red wine and dark chocolate, also <a href="http://jeb.biologists.org/content/215/20/3566">improve snail memory</a>. Similarly, different types of stress that negatively affect memory in mammals, including social isolation, <a href="http://rstb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/373/1756/20170291">also have negative effects</a> on snails’ memory.</p>
<p>The causes and consequences of individual differences in cognitive ability in animals is currently of great interest to researchers globally, and the focus of a recent <a href="http://rstb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/373/1756">special issue</a> of the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B. Because we know about the similarities in the response to stress in snails and other species, I hope that this work will lead us towards a better understanding of the effects of stress on cognition in other animals, including humans.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/101652/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sarah Dalesman does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>New research reveals how stress could alter our perceptions about which animals are 'smart'.Sarah Dalesman, Lecturer, Aberystwyth UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/997312018-08-06T10:39:33Z2018-08-06T10:39:33ZBrains keep temporary molecular records before making a lasting memory<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/230467/original/file-20180802-136652-1cvad3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;rect=490%2C475%2C1407%2C958&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=496&amp;fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Like the day&#39;s newspaper, the brain has a temporary way to keep track of events.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-vector/vector-silhouette-human-brain-newspaper-columns-124171039">TonTonic/Shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The first dance at my wedding lasted exactly four minutes and 52 seconds, but I’ll probably remember it for decades. Neuroscientists still don’t entirely understand this: How was my brain able to translate this less-than-five-minute experience into a lifelong memory? Part of the puzzle is that there’s a gap between experience and memory: our experiences are fleeting, but it takes hours to form a long-term memory.</p>
<p>In recent work <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2018.04.001">published in the journal Neuron</a>, <a href="https://www.niehs.nih.gov/research/atniehs/labs/ln/pi/sdp/index.cfm">my</a> <a href="https://gray.hms.harvard.edu/">colleagues</a> <a href="http://faculty.ucmerced.edu/rsaha3">and</a> <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?view_op=list_works&amp;hl=en&amp;user=9JkTJUMAAAAJ">I</a> figured out how the brain keeps temporary molecular records of transient experiences. Our finding not only helps to explain how the brain bridges the gap between experience and memory. It also allows us to read the brain’s short-term records, raising the possibility that we may one day be able to infer a person’s, or at least a laboratory mouse’s, past experience – what they saw, thought, felt – just by looking at the molecules in their brain.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/230615/original/file-20180803-41320-ye2h39.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/230615/original/file-20180803-41320-ye2h39.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/230615/original/file-20180803-41320-ye2h39.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=423&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/230615/original/file-20180803-41320-ye2h39.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=423&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/230615/original/file-20180803-41320-ye2h39.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=423&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/230615/original/file-20180803-41320-ye2h39.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=531&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/230615/original/file-20180803-41320-ye2h39.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=531&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/230615/original/file-20180803-41320-ye2h39.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=531&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Electrical pulses carry signals along the branches of neurons.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cajal_actx_inter.jpg">Santiago Ramón y Cajal</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Electrifying experience</h2>
<p>To uncover how the brain keeps track of an animal’s experience, we started by asking how the brain records its electrical activity. Every experience you have, from chatting with a friend to smelling french fries, corresponds to its own unique pattern of electrical activity in the nervous system and brain. These activity patterns are defined by which neurons are active and in what way they’re active.</p>
<p>For example, say you’re at the gym lifting weights. Which neurons are active is fairly straightforward: If you’re lifting with your right arm, different neurons will be active than if you’re lifting with your left arm because different neurons are connected to the muscles of each arm.</p>
<p>The way in which a neuron is active, on the other hand, encompasses an infinite number of possibilities. Neuronal activity consists of pulses of electricity that can occur in pretty much any pattern over time that you can imagine. Electrical activity can vary in duration, or whether the pulses occur in clumps or steadily. In this case, lifting a heavier weight will lead to <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1514782/?page=1">more pulses per minute</a>.</p>
<p>So, it’s a combination of which neurons are active and how frequently they’re pulsing that makes your experience of lifting a 10-pound weight with your right hand different from that of lifting a 5-pound weight with your left hand.</p>
<h2>Activated neurons activate genes</h2>
<p>In our experiments, we couldn’t test every possible pattern of electrical activity, so we focused just on the way neurons record how long they are active.</p>
<p>We predicted they’d keep these records by turning on genes. All the cells in your body have pretty much the same genes encoded in their DNA. But different genes turn on depending on the type of cell and what it’s encountered in its life. Which genes are activated in a particular cell are what makes it different from other cells.</p>
<p>For about 30 years, researchers have known that neurons <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/0896-6273(90)90106-P">turn on certain genes</a> when they’re electrically active. When a gene in a neuron is turned on, the cell sends a molecular Xerox machine to that gene’s place in the DNA. The molecular Xerox makes lots of copies of the gene in the form of new molecules. These new molecules aren’t made of DNA, but rather the closely-related RNA. These RNA molecules remain in the cell for hours to days and serve as the brain’s record of which neurons were active.</p>
<p>But we wanted to know whether the genes that are on in neurons can record not just that they’ve been at all active but also the way they’ve been active. That is, do neurons that are activated differently – for longer or shorter time periods, for instance – turn on different genes?</p>
<p>We thought they would: Long-term memories are stored in physical changes to the neurons themselves, and the type of change is determined by the pattern of electrical activity the neuron experiences. So we predicted that the brain would need to keep track not only of which neurons were active, but also the way those neurons were active in order to make those lasting changes.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/230510/original/file-20180803-41351-1ovxv3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/230510/original/file-20180803-41351-1ovxv3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/230510/original/file-20180803-41351-1ovxv3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=456&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/230510/original/file-20180803-41351-1ovxv3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=456&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/230510/original/file-20180803-41351-1ovxv3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=456&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/230510/original/file-20180803-41351-1ovxv3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=573&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/230510/original/file-20180803-41351-1ovxv3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=573&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/230510/original/file-20180803-41351-1ovxv3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=573&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Researchers activated mouse neurons growing in a dish.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Kelsey Tyssowski</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In our experiments, we activated mouse neurons growing in a dish by exposing them to a chemical that turned them on. As long as the chemical was there, the neurons were active, allowing us to keep them turned on for various lengths of time.</p>
<p>We found that, indeed, neurons in a dish that are activated for different lengths of time turn on different genes. And this genetic record-keeping is unexpectedly simple: The longer neurons are active, the more genes they turn on.</p>
<p>This turned out to be true not only in neurons growing in a dish, but also in the brains of living mice. By exposing mice to bright lights, we were able to activate the neurons in the vision center of their brains for as long as the lights were on. The longer the lights shone, the more different genes turned on, their RNA copies building up in the cell. This means that the set of molecules found in a briefly active neuron is different from that found in a neuron that was active for a long time.</p>
<p>That this simple record-keeping was present in the brains of living mice suggests it’s likely also in the brains of humans.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/230502/original/file-20180803-41338-15m8wpe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/230502/original/file-20180803-41338-15m8wpe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/230502/original/file-20180803-41338-15m8wpe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=200&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/230502/original/file-20180803-41338-15m8wpe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=200&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/230502/original/file-20180803-41338-15m8wpe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=200&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/230502/original/file-20180803-41338-15m8wpe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=251&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/230502/original/file-20180803-41338-15m8wpe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=251&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/230502/original/file-20180803-41338-15m8wpe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=251&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Each neuron contains a metaphorical machine that translates its electrical activity into molecular records.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Anastasia Nizhnik and Kelsey Tyssowski</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Temporary records of breaking news</h2>
<p>Our work only explains how neurons keep track of how long they were active, but we think neurons may well keep track of all aspects of their activity in the same way. But why would the brain keep this molecular record of an animal’s experiences?</p>
<p>I think of these molecular records as being like a newspaper. The brain writes an article about each experience by turning on a specific set of genes in a specific set of neurons. These articles – in the form of RNA molecules – will remain around for hours to days. But just as days-old newspapers are usually tossed out, the copies of the activated genes are not how the brain stories memories for decades.</p>
<p>Instead, the brain reads its temporary newspaper-like records to write its history books: long-term memories. When your brain stores a memory of an experience, it <a href="https://doi.org/10.1101/cshperspect.a021741">physically changes the connections</a> between the neurons that the experience activated. Those changes can last a lifetime – like my wedding memories. Our group thinks the genes that are on in a neuron probably tell it what kinds of changes to make, like the articles in a newspaper tell scholars what to write in history books.</p>
<h2>Reading records</h2>
<p>My colleagues and I thought that if the brain is able to read these molecular records when writing its long-term memories, we should be able to read them, too. Like any reliable record, the genes that turned on in response to short versus long activity were predictable. They were actually so predictable that we were able to figure out if a group of neurons had been activated for a long time or a short time just by looking at which genes they had turned on.</p>
<p>So far we can only read how long a neuron’s been active, but if we could fully read the brain’s records, we might be able to infer someone’s experience of their day just by looking at the RNA molecules present in their brain. We could look at the genes that are on in your neurons and figure out that in your workout this morning you lifted a 5-, not 10-, pound weight with your right, not left, hand. And we could tell that you were daydreaming about your date tonight while you did it.</p>
<p>Unfortunately for aspiring mind-readers who are willing to put aside any ethical qualms, it’s not actually possible to look at the molecules present in the brain of a living person and probably won’t be in the foreseeable future. Furthermore, we don’t entirely understand which brain activity patterns correspond to which experiences. So even if we could read these records fluently, we wouldn’t be able to infer experience.</p>
<p>Instead, we hope that understanding the brain’s record-keeping will provide an easier way to measure brain activity in lab animals for researchers trying to figure out the correspondence between experience and brain activity. Current technologies are somewhat inefficient and can only measure activity in real time, so reading the brain’s genetic records could make these experiments more feasible.</p>
<p>So while molecular mind-reading in humans stays relegated to science fiction for now, our work begins to allow scientists to read the records in the brains of lab mice. It’s a step toward understanding how the brain converts experience to electrical activity to memory.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/99731/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kelsey Tyssowski received funding from the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program. The research described here was also funded by the NIH, the Canadian Institute of Health Research, the Giovanni Armenise-Harvard Foundation, a McKnight Scholar Award, a Harvard Brain Science Initiative Bipolar Disorder Seed Grant, the Kaneb family and Kent and Liz Dauten.</span></em></p>How do brains convert experiences into memories? New research explores the chain of events by focusing on what genes shift into gear when neurons are firing.Kelsey Tyssowski, Graduate Student in Biomedical Science, Harvard UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1001752018-07-22T20:06:35Z2018-07-22T20:06:35ZMove it, move it: how physical activity at school helps the mind (as well as the body)<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/228337/original/file-20180719-142411-1nnxkvc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=496&amp;fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Encouraging physical activity in the playground, in classrooms and before and after school can help.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/download/success?u=http%3A%2F%2Fdownload.shutterstock.com%2Fgatekeeper%2FW3siZSI6MTUzMTk4OTQ1OSwiYyI6Il9waG90b19zZXNzaW9uX2lkIiwiZGMiOiJpZGxfMTEyNTIzMTkyMCIsImsiOiJwaG90by8xMTI1MjMxOTIwL21lZGl1bS5qcGciLCJtIjoxLCJkIjoic2h1dHRlcnN0b2NrLW1lZGlhIn0sImVyVnQvYjZ3di9MRjZoTzNaVWNUSTFuUkx6MCJd%2Fshutterstock_1125231920.jpg&amp;pi=41133566&amp;m=1125231920&amp;src=ZiNUiViYTR7UDwYrdxz_aQ-1-6">from www.shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Federal Sports Minister Bridget McKenzie recently unveiled <a href="https://www.heraldsun.com.au/kids-news/push-for-compulsory-school-sport-and-pe-kicks-off/news-story/ef92bd4292ec6b680c9d5a2034804e18?nk=169d54edbe92baeb4267a9b672695752-1531953073">plans</a> to convince state education and sports ministers to ensure sport and physical education is compulsory in schools.</p>
<p>The physical benefits of getting kids moving have been well <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0140673614606486">recognised</a> to help prevent chronic disease and develop movement habits across their <a href="https://insights.ovid.com/mespex/201405000/00005768-201405000-00014">lifespan</a>.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="http://theconversation.com/the-rise-of-the-fitbit-kids-a-good-move-or-a-step-too-far-64429">The rise of the Fitbit kids: a good move or a step too far?</a>
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<p>Yet one of McKenzie’s key <a href="https://www.heraldsun.com.au/kids-news/push-for-compulsory-school-sport-and-pe-kicks-off/news-story/ef92bd4292ec6b680c9d5a2034804e18">points</a>, to push for mandatory physical education, was based on improving school results.</p>
<p>This statement is an important and positive shift in the education sector. Until recently, bodies and minds were often considered separate entities when it came to education. </p>
<p>Physical education has been <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/18377122.2015.1054149">perceived</a> as only dealing with the “movement of the body” or the “non-thinking thing”. So historically, it has been pushed to the periphery. For example, physical education is yet to be an endorsed focus for the national <a href="https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/senior-secondary-curriculum/">senior secondary curriculum</a>. </p>
<p>Yet over the past two decades, growing research has strongly recognised the <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/18377122.2015.1054149">inter-connections</a> between body and mind.</p>
<h2>How can movement help a student’s brain?</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0896627315002597">Brain processing</a> takes up about 20% of our total metabolism through cognitive activities like memory, attention and concentration. </p>
<p>This cognition needs a strong <a href="https://physoc.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.14814/phy2.12163">flow</a> of fuel (glucose, oxygen) and hormones to activate and enhance the brain’s capacity to perform, learn and get rid of waste.</p>
<p>So any prolonged sitting and inactivity can lead to negative cognitive <a href="https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/early/2016/05/06/bjsports-2015-095551?utm_source=trendmd&amp;utm_medium=cpc&amp;utm_campaign=alljjs&amp;utm_content=consumer&amp;utm_term=1-A&amp;casa_token=MYGJWSTxlfAAAAAA:kiCWJs8CAJQIJLW8Qqp_c4x-zwcSOXbagAXK6v8oLvMIFVQtGm9JWV6_3_juVW5TlkHuca7p2tCXcw">consequences</a>. For instance, inactivity in childhood has been linked to reduced <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022347617307758">working memory</a>, <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0103559">attention</a> and learning. </p>
<p>A student’s brain does not keep itself healthy independently. It is the connection with a healthy, moving body that can help improve brain performance.</p>
<p>Physical activity is also important in <a href="https://books.google.com.au/books?hl=en&amp;lr=&amp;id=CFhhBQAAQBAJ&amp;oi=fnd&amp;pg=PT13&amp;dq=Ratey+%26+Hagerman&amp;ots=6GjsNnv75T&amp;sig=UucMNka1u_naqwqldZztpt4O3ME#v=onepage&amp;q=Ratey%20%26%20Hagerman&amp;f=false">developing</a> students’ brain structures (cells/neurons) and functioning at an early age. </p>
<p>The human brain is not fully developed until the third <a href="https://journals.humankinetics.com/doi/abs/10.1123/pes.2013-0125">decade</a> of life, so getting kids moving can be a powerful academic strategy. </p>
<h2>What does the research tell us?</h2>
<p>More studies are linking physical activity and improved cognitive function. One of the most globally <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0306452209001171">recognised</a> found primary school students’ level of cognitive function increased from just 20 minutes of walking. Students did better in an academic test and had improved attention. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/228324/original/file-20180718-142411-ri3xqi.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/228324/original/file-20180718-142411-ri3xqi.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=335&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/228324/original/file-20180718-142411-ri3xqi.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=335&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/228324/original/file-20180718-142411-ri3xqi.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=335&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/228324/original/file-20180718-142411-ri3xqi.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=421&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/228324/original/file-20180718-142411-ri3xqi.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=421&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/228324/original/file-20180718-142411-ri3xqi.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=421&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Brain scan of child before (left) and after (right) walking on a treadmill for 20 minutes. Increased brain activity was linked with better cognitive function. Courtesy: Dr Chuck Hillman, University of Illinois.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Since this study, there have been many other US studies that have established links between physical activity and students’ academic performance, including from the <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1746-1561.2008.00371.x">north east</a> (with more than 1800 students) and <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02701367.2010.10599690">Texas</a> (2.5 million students). </p>
<p><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0091743511000557">Several large</a> <a href="https://shapeamerica.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02701367.2011.10599785">scale</a> <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2095254612000737">reviews</a> have also identified links between physical activity and students’ academic performance, for example, grades and test scores.</p>
<p>In Australia, a <a href="https://journals.humankinetics.com/doi/abs/10.1123/pes.24.1.45">study</a> of 757 primary school students across 29 primary schools found fitter children had higher NAPLAN scores. Students with specialist physical education teachers also had higher numeracy and literacy <a href="https://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/abs/10.2105/AJPH.2011.300220">scores</a>.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="http://theconversation.com/from-grassroots-to-gold-the-role-of-school-sport-in-olympic-success-8849">From grassroots to gold: the role of school sport in Olympic success</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>There is also <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0890856717303180">evidence</a> of improved cognitive performance (attention, memory, concentration), <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0134804">self-esteem</a>, <a href="https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/early/2011/07/31/bjsports-2011-090185.short">mental health</a> (reduced depression, anxiety, stress), <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24524375">enjoyment</a> and <a href="https://shapeamerica.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02701367.2017.1294244#.W0_NloVOLmI">lesson engagement</a> from school students’ participation in physical activity.</p>
<h2>What type of physical activity is best?</h2>
<p>Researchers are still <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2095254614001203">working out</a> what types, conditions and length of physical activities can have the most effect.</p>
<p>For instance, going for a routine walk requires less decision-making and intensity than completing a <a href="https://toughmudder.com.au/">Tough Mudder</a> or <a href="https://www.9now.com.au/australian-ninja-warrior">Ninja Warrior</a> course.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="http://theconversation.com/why-we-should-put-yoga-in-the-australian-school-curriculum-89962">Why we should put yoga in the Australian school curriculum</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Top 5 tips to provide high quality physical activity at school</h2>
<p><strong>1. Curriculum</strong></p>
<p>Opportunities to take part in authentic (resembling real-world) <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1356336X13496001">games</a> and <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13573322.2011.624594">sports</a>, embedded with <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/18377122.2015.1051268">reflective</a> and guided thinking opportunities. This can help students develop solutions to movement problems and understand sporting traditions, roles, teamwork and rules.</p>
<p><strong>2. Classroom</strong></p>
<p>Provide <a href="https://www.heart.org/idc/groups/heart-public/@wcm/@fc/documents/downloadable/ucm_455767.pdf">active breaks</a> (short break of a few minutes) with simple and/or integrated physical activities like moving to music during prolonged, inactive lessons to improve academic <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0091743516301049">engagement</a>. </p>
<p><strong>3. Recess</strong></p>
<p>Access to a larger variety of mobile equipment can engage students in more <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14729679.2018.1436078">creative</a> exploration of physical activities. </p>
<p>Mobile equipment can encourage more variety and choice for students to design complex, evolving physical activities beyond fixed locations. </p>
<p><strong>4. Before and after school</strong></p>
<p>Partnering with national sporting organisations through programs such as Australia’s <a href="https://www.sportingschools.gov.au/about">Sporting Schools</a>.</p>
<p>Students can then pursue sports and physical activity beyond those facilitated at school and by the program.</p>
<p><strong>5. Active transport</strong></p>
<p>Set up a <a href="http://www.walkingschoolbus.org/">walking school bus</a> or <a href="http://guide.saferoutesinfo.org/walking_school_bus/bicycle_trains.cfm">bicycle train</a> to plan a safely structured walk or ride to school with one or more adults, depending on air quality, distances to school and busyness of streets.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/100175/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Brendon Hyndman does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Compulsory sport and physical education at school will improve children's memory, attention and ability to concentrate, not just boost fitness. The evidence is in.Brendon Hyndman, Senior Lecturer and Course Director of Postgraduate Studies in Education, Charles Sturt UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/945682018-07-19T21:26:07Z2018-07-19T21:26:07ZPlay games with your kids this summer to boost their brains<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/226385/original/file-20180705-122271-p4aw9k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=496&amp;fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Many board games strengthen the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex of the brains of players. This results in improved cognitive functions such as IQ, memory, information retention and problem-solving.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Research shows that playing games can enhance our personal, social and emotional well-being, as well as our mental acuity. </p>
<p>A study conducted at Harvard Medical School in 2017 points out that <a href="https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/the-pursuit-of-happiness">loneliness can be more detrimental to health than smoking</a>. Happiness, on the other hand, is strongly correlated with close relationships with family members and friends.</p>
<p>Playing both board games and video games with family members provide opportunities to get together and develop these relationships. They stimulate players physically, mentally and emotionally. </p>
<p>Games have also been found to change the brain structurally and functionally, according to many scientific studies. They can promote neurogenesis — the growth of new neurons in the brains. They can also promote neuroplasticity — changes in neural pathways and synapses that lead to structural changes in the brain. </p>
<p>These changes result in <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/the-athletes-way/201310/video-gaming-can-increase-brain-size-and-connectivity">new brain cells and better connectivity among the different brain regions</a>, thus enhancing mental skills such as memory, attention span, spatial intelligence, language learning ability and coordination. </p>
<h2>Enthusiasm, stress reduction, calmness</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3788340">A 2017 study</a> published in <em>Frontiers in Human Neuroscience</em> showed that experienced players of the board game <em>Baduk</em>, or <em>Go</em>, had increased gray matter in the <a href="https://www.neuroscientificallychallenged.com/blog/2014/6/11/know-your-brain-nucleus-accumbens">nucleus accumbens</a> and decreased gray matter in <a href="https://www.neuroscientificallychallenged.com/blog/2-minute-neuroscience-amygdala?rq=amygdala">the amygdala</a>, as compared to novices. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/226381/original/file-20180705-122259-h8j0gr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/226381/original/file-20180705-122259-h8j0gr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=400&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/226381/original/file-20180705-122259-h8j0gr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=400&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/226381/original/file-20180705-122259-h8j0gr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=400&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/226381/original/file-20180705-122259-h8j0gr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=503&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/226381/original/file-20180705-122259-h8j0gr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=503&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/226381/original/file-20180705-122259-h8j0gr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=503&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Games can improve memory and decision making skills.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The nucleus accumbens is an area of the brain responsible for <a href="https://www.neuroscientificallychallenged.com/blog/2014/6/11/know-your-brain-nucleus-accumbens">processing environmental stimuli related to rewarding or unpleasant experiences</a>. Its functioning is based on the neurotransmitters dopamine, which promotes desire, and serotonin, which promotes satiety and inhibition. </p>
<p>Increase in gray matter in the nucleus accumbens leads to more positive experiences and enthusiasm.</p>
<p>The amygdala is an almond-shaped set of neurons located deep in the brain’s medial temporal lobe. It is <a href="https://www.sciencedaily.com/terms/amygdala.htm">part of the limbic system and responsible for processing emotions</a>. A decrease in gray matter in the amygdala <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2840837/">leads to stress reduction and increased calmness</a>. </p>
<h2>Better decision-making</h2>
<p>Research also shows that action video game experts have <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/srep09763#affil-auth">more grey matter and enhanced functional connectivity in the insula subregions of their brains</a>. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.neuroscientificallychallenged.com/blog/2013/05/what-is-insula">The insula</a> is a small portion of the cerebral cortex, responsible for self-awareness and present moment awareness. Increase in gray matter in the insula of the brain facilitates better decision-making. </p>
<p>Many board games also strengthen <a href="https://www.neuroscientificallychallenged.com/blog/2014/5/23/know-your-brain-hippocampus?rq=hippocampus">the hippocampus</a> and <a href="https://www.neuroscientificallychallenged.com/blog/2014/5/16/know-your-brain-prefrontal-cortex">prefrontal cortex</a> of the brains of players. <a href="http://www.psy.cmu.edu/%7Esiegler/2014-Laski-Siegler.pdf">This results in improved cognitive functions</a> such as IQ, memory, information retention and problem-solving.</p>
<p>Human brains have two hippocampi, located in each of the temporal lobes below the cerebral cortex. These are mainly responsible for memory consolidation along with spatial navigation and orientation. An increase in gray matter in the hippocampus is desired <a href="https://www.neuroscientificallychallenged.com/blog/2014/5/23/know-your-brain-hippocampus?rq=hippocampus">for better memory and for prevention of dementia</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/226387/original/file-20180705-122253-1hrn02n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/226387/original/file-20180705-122253-1hrn02n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=401&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/226387/original/file-20180705-122253-1hrn02n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=401&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/226387/original/file-20180705-122253-1hrn02n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=401&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/226387/original/file-20180705-122253-1hrn02n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=503&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/226387/original/file-20180705-122253-1hrn02n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=503&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/226387/original/file-20180705-122253-1hrn02n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=503&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Research shows playing video games with family or friends can reduce the risk of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s among adults.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The prefrontal cortex is located at the very front of the brain and is responsible for performing “executive functions” such as reason, logic, problem-solving, planning, memory, directing attention, developing and pursuing goals and inhibiting counterproductive impulses. </p>
<h2>Improving memory</h2>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2015.00592">A study published in <em>Frontier Human Neuroscience</em></a> in 2015 documented the results of using a “Virtual Week (VW)” training game with older adults. This was a computerized game that simulated the schedule of a day on the circuits of the board, engaging participants in events such as choosing what to eat for meals or how to interact with others. The game also asked them to remember to do things on time — for example to take medication at breakfast, or deliver a message to colleagues. </p>
<p>Participants were trained to play the game for 12 sessions of one hour, over a period of a month. This resulted in cognitive and neural plasticity, improving the “prospective memory” of the participants — the ability to remember and successfully execute intentions and planned activities.</p>
<p>Playing collaborative strategic board games in an informal and interactional context has also been found <a href="http://www.dx.doi.org/10.4018/ijgbl.2011040105">to improve computational thinking</a> — including skills such as conditional logic, distributed processing, debugging, simulation and algorithm building. </p>
<h2>Reducing mental problems</h2>
<p>Research has also found that <a href="https://www.mpg.de/research/video-games-brain">playing video games with family or friends can reduce the risk of mental health problems</a> such as schizophrenia, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s among adults. </p>
<p>One study, published in 2014 in the <em>American Psychological Association</em> also reported that <a href="http://www.apa.org/action/resources/research-in-action/dyslexia.aspx">playing video games could help children with dyslexia</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/226382/original/file-20180705-122277-bhwjc7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/226382/original/file-20180705-122277-bhwjc7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=400&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/226382/original/file-20180705-122277-bhwjc7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=400&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/226382/original/file-20180705-122277-bhwjc7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=400&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/226382/original/file-20180705-122277-bhwjc7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=503&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/226382/original/file-20180705-122277-bhwjc7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=503&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/226382/original/file-20180705-122277-bhwjc7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=503&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">It is important to strike a balance between video games and board games for kids.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Then benefits of playing games can be increased by metacognition (thinking about thinking) and meditation sessions. Although there is ample research evidence to show that playing board and video games substantially affect the brain positively, adults need to stimulate metacognition in children — encouraging them to explain why they made certain decisions during the game. </p>
<p>This type of <a href="https://www.parentingscience.com/board-games-for-kids.html">probing can make video and board games more powerful tools</a> for developing mental acuity among kids. </p>
<p>Combining game sessions with short meditation sessions may also <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-many-benefits-of-meditation-in-the-classroom-94566">enhance the quality of time spent together with family and friends</a> in a purposeful, joyous manner. </p>
<h2>Balance board games and video games</h2>
<p>Games do come with many cognitive benefits but striking a balance is the key. Too much of anything can be detrimental. </p>
<p>Research shows that kids need to be encouraged to participate in social games as well as instructional and video games, but the negative consequences of getting addicted to these should also be explained to them. </p>
<p>As adults also we need to keep a watch on how much time we spend playing games, and on the type of games played.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/94568/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>David Kaufman receives funding from the AGE-WELL National Centre of Excellence Network in Canada.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Neha Shivhare does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>From dyslexia, to dementia to schizophrenia, there is evidence that playing games can help, while boosting family connections and emotional wellbeing.Neha Shivhare, Assistant Professor, Dayalbagh Educational Institute, India; Visiting Fellow, Simon Fraser UniversityDavid Kaufman, Professor of Education, Simon Fraser UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/952632018-05-08T11:17:47Z2018-05-08T11:17:47ZFive brain-boosting reasons to take up martial arts – at any age<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/217989/original/file-20180507-46328-tyq9pw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=496&amp;fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/man-practises-martial-arts-dramatic-cloudy-73460365?src=bOqM4Mmyhe4vYQmMzE-IBw-1-54">Lucy Baldwin/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>We are all aware that exercise generally has many benefits, such as improving physical fitness and strength. But what do we know about the effects of specific types of exercise? Researchers have already shown that jogging can <a href="https://theconversation.com/jogging-can-add-years-to-your-life-here-are-six-simple-tips-to-get-you-started-63542">increase life expectancy</a>, for example, while yoga <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-yoga-makes-us-happy-according-to-science-77840">makes us happy</a>. However, there is one activity that goes beyond enhancing physical and mental health – martial arts can boost your brain’s cognition too.</p>
<h2>1. Improved attention</h2>
<p>Researchers say that there are <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1364661309000655">two ways</a> to improve attention, through attention training (AT), and attention state training (AST). AT is based on practising a specific skill and getting better at that skill, but not others – using a brain training video game, for example. AST on the other hand is about getting into a specific state of mind that allows a stronger focus. This can be done by using exercise, meditation, or yoga, among other things. </p>
<p>It has been suggested that martial arts is a form of AST, and supporting this, <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00080/full">recent research</a> has shown a link between practice and <a href="https://theconversation.com/martial-arts-can-improve-your-attention-span-and-alertness-long-term-new-study-91798">improved alertness</a>. Backing this idea up further, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2095254615000939">another study</a> showed that martial arts practice – specifically karate – is linked with better performance on a divided attention task. This is an assignment in which the person has to keep two rules in mind and respond to signals based on whether they are auditory or visual. </p>
<h2>2. Reduced aggression</h2>
<p>In a <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/pits.20344">US study</a>, children aged 8-11 were tasked with traditional martial arts training that focused on respecting other people and defending themselves as part of an anti-bullying programme. The children were also taught how to maintain a level of self-control in heated situations. </p>
<p>The researchers found that the martial arts training reduced the level of aggressive behaviour in boys, and found that they were more likely to step in and help someone who was being bullied than before they took part in the training. Significant changes were not found in the girls’ behaviour, potentially because they showed much lower levels of physical aggression before the training than the boys did. </p>
<p>Interestingly, this anti-agression effect is not limited to young children. A <a href="http://europepmc.org/abstract/med/28480690">different piece of research</a> found reduced physical and verbal aggression, as well as hostility, in adolescents who practised martial arts too.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/217990/original/file-20180507-46359-7gml7f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/217990/original/file-20180507-46359-7gml7f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=400&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/217990/original/file-20180507-46359-7gml7f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=400&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/217990/original/file-20180507-46359-7gml7f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=400&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/217990/original/file-20180507-46359-7gml7f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=503&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/217990/original/file-20180507-46359-7gml7f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=503&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/217990/original/file-20180507-46359-7gml7f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=503&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">In control.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/mixed-martial-arts-fighter-woman-gym-327173153?src=bOqM4Mmyhe4vYQmMzE-IBw-3-63">El Nariz/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>3. Greater stress management</h2>
<p>Some forms of martial arts, such as tai chi, place great emphasis on controlled breathing and meditation. These were <a href="http://www.eurjhm.com/index.php/eurjhm/article/view/355">strongly linked</a> in one study with reduced feelings of stress, as well as being better able to manage stress when it is present in young to middle-aged adults. </p>
<p>This effect has also been found in <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0197457210002144?_rdoc=1">older adults</a> – the 330 participants in this research had a mean age of 73 – too. And the softer, flowing movements make it an ideal, low-impact exercise for older people. </p>
<h2>4. Enhanced emotional well-being</h2>
<p>As several scientists are now looking into the <a href="https://theconversation.com/stimulating-the-pathway-connecting-body-and-brain-may-change-chronic-condition-patients-lives-84175">links between</a> emotional well-being and physical health, it’s vital to note that martial arts has been show to <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2012.00040/full">improve a person’s emotional well-being</a> too. </p>
<p>In the study linked above, 45 older adults (aged 67-93) were asked to take part in karate training, cognitive training, or non-martial arts physical training for three to six months. The older adults in the karate training showed lower levels of depression after the training period than both other groups, perhaps due to its meditative aspect. It was also reported that these adults showed a greater level of self-esteem after the training too.</p>
<h2>5. Improved memory</h2>
<p>After comparing a sedentary control group to a group of people doing karate, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4187589/">Italian researchers</a> found that taking part in karate can improve a person’s working memory. They used a test that involved recalling and repeating a series of numbers, both in the correct order and backwards, which increased in difficulty until the participant was unable to continue. The karate group were much better at this task than the control group, meaning they could recall longer series of numbers. <a href="https://journals.humankinetics.com/doi/pdf/10.1123/japa.18.3.261">Another project</a> found similar results while comparing tai chi practice with “Western exercise” – strength, endurance, and resistance training. </p>
<p>Evidently, there is far more to martial arts than its traditional roles. Though they have been practised for self-defence and spiritual development for many hundreds of years, only relatively recently have researchers had the methods to assess the true extent of how this practice affects the brain. </p>
<p>There are a such a huge range of martial arts, some more gentle and meditative, others combative and physically intensive. But this only means that there is a type for everyone, so why not give it a go and see how you can boost your own brain using the ancient practices of martial arts.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/95263/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ashleigh Johnstone receives funding from the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC).</span></em></p>As well as increasing physical fitness and mental health, martial arts can boost brain cognition too.Ashleigh Johnstone, PhD Researcher in Cognitive Neuroscience, Bangor UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/955062018-05-02T22:22:52Z2018-05-02T22:22:52ZHow exercise can boost your brain function<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/217200/original/file-20180502-153891-zqbvba.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=496&amp;fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Research shows that regular exercise can dramatically reduce the risks of depression as well as boost cognition and memory.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>In Canada, approximately <a href="http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/82-624-x/2013001/article/tbl/tbl1-eng.htm">one in five adults will experience a mental illness</a> in their lifetime, with <a href="https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/mental-illness.shtml">similar numbers reported in the United States</a>. </p>
<p>Preventing mental illness is just as important as preventing other chronic conditions such as heart disease, diabetes and cancer. As with these chronic conditions, regular physical activity plays a key role.</p>
<p>A recent meta-analysis (a large study combining other studies together) with a total of 266,939 participants reported that <a href="https://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/doi/10.1176/appi.ajp.2018.17111194">being active for 150 minutes or more per week was associated with a 20 per cent reduction in risk for depression</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://mentalhealthweek.ca">Mental health week in Canada</a> — which runs from May 7-13, 2018 — offers us an opportunity to consider what science says about the impacts of exercise on mind and body.</p>
<h2>Reduce your stress and anxiety</h2>
<p>Exercise offers immediate as well as long-term benefits. Research shows that after just one session people have a <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0191886917302027">greater chance of experiencing positive events and achievement</a> throughout that day, and also into the next day. </p>
<p>Other studies have found that <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29108442">a single bout of exercise can improve memory and cognition</a>. And, if you can think better, well then, it’s likely you’ll achieve more. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/217211/original/file-20180502-153900-8ef7x6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/217211/original/file-20180502-153900-8ef7x6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=436&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/217211/original/file-20180502-153900-8ef7x6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=436&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/217211/original/file-20180502-153900-8ef7x6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=436&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/217211/original/file-20180502-153900-8ef7x6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=548&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/217211/original/file-20180502-153900-8ef7x6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=548&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/217211/original/file-20180502-153900-8ef7x6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=548&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Being physically fit can improve your brain function, according to research.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>After just a few sessions, the benefits of exercise add up. When people who were not active underwent a walking and running program for as little as four weeks, there were <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3374855/">improvements in their memory as well as reductions in stress and anxiety</a>.</p>
<p>For those with depression, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26978184">exercise has been proven to reduce symptoms</a>, with greater benefits coming from activity at moderate to vigorous intensity levels. </p>
<p>As a result, exercise is included in the <a href="https://psychiatryonline.org/pb/assets/raw/sitewide/practice_guidelines/guidelines/mdd.pdf">American Psychiatric Association treatment guidelines for depression</a>.</p>
<h2>How are your endocannabinoids?</h2>
<p>Exercise works by releasing hormones and neurotransmitters that make us feel good. </p>
<p>When we exercise, <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.2165/00007256-199724010-00002">our body releases endorphins</a>. Some people refer to these as the “happy hormones.” </p>
<p><a href="https://www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/you-asked/what-are-endorphins">Endorphins suppress pain</a> and have sedative properties like morphine. The effects can even be <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/npp2017148">felt at low levels of activity</a>. </p>
<p>In addition, exercise releases <a href="http://bjsm.bmj.com/content/38/5/536">neurotransmitters called endocannabinoids</a>, which are associated with the brain’s reward system. </p>
<p>In one 2017 study, adults who underwent supervised exercise sessions <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=28319590">experienced an increase in endocannabinoids </a> as well as a decrease in depression, tension and negative mood. </p>
<p>Together, it is believed that this leads to a euphoric feeling: The so-called “runner’s high.”</p>
<p>Regular exercise has also been shown to <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24602398">improve an elderly person’s self-esteem</a>, which is important to maintaining good mental health. </p>
<p>Being physically active can also provide numerous opportunities to engage with others socially which is, again, beneficial to mental health.</p>
<h2>Improve your brain function</h2>
<p>A number of physiological benefits within the brain occur as a result of exercise. </p>
<p>It’s been shown that exercise leads to an increase in BDNF (brain derived neurotrophic factor) and <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4697050/">higher levels may reduce risk for Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/217196/original/file-20180502-153908-ivyoml.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/217196/original/file-20180502-153908-ivyoml.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=400&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/217196/original/file-20180502-153908-ivyoml.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=400&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/217196/original/file-20180502-153908-ivyoml.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=400&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/217196/original/file-20180502-153908-ivyoml.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=503&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/217196/original/file-20180502-153908-ivyoml.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=503&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/217196/original/file-20180502-153908-ivyoml.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=503&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Exercise can help people with dementia to perform daily activities such as getting dressed and bathing.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>As we age, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12873856">our brain volume decreases</a>. However, a review of controlled studies found that people who underwent an exercise program like walking, running or cycling had <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1053811917309138?via%3Dihub">modest increases in hippocampus volume</a> (the part of the brain involved in emotions) compared to those who didn’t exercise.</p>
<p>Being more physically fit is also associated with <a href="https://content.iospress.com/articles/journal-of-alzheimers-disease/jad170415">more neuronal fibre integrity in the brain</a>, which in turn is associated with higher brain function. </p>
<p>Finally, exercise appears to improve memory and cognition. <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18768414">In one study</a>, for example, a six-month program of physical activity for adults with memory impairment provided a modest improvement in their cognition over an 18-month follow-up period.</p>
<h2>Reduce risks of dementia?</h2>
<p>The number of Canadians who will experience a mental illness increases significantly when you include the <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/publications/diseases-conditions/dementia-highlights-canadian-chronic-disease-surveillance.html">seven to eight per cent of adults in Canada who have dementia</a>.</p>
<p>It is unclear, however, whether the improved memory and cognition associated with physical activity translates to a lower risk for dementia. </p>
<p>A study in <a href="http://www.cochrane.org/cd006489/dementia_exercise-programs-for-people-with-dementia">people with dementia found no improvements in cognition and symptoms with exercise</a>. </p>
<p>That said, in this same study, there was improvement in their ability to perform daily activities such as getting dressed and bathing. This may help to prolong independent living. </p>
<p>Many researchers agree, though, that the current studies of exercise in dementia are of poor quality and may not be showing us the true picture — since exercise also improves a number of risk factors associated with dementia such as high blood pressure and diabetes.</p>
<p>One thing is very clear: Getting <a href="http://www.who.int/dietphysicalactivity/factsheet_adults/en/">at least 150 minutes of physical activity per week, at moderate to vigorous intensity levels</a>, will keep you sharper in the short-term and may even help protect against future mental illness.</p>
<p>Whether you run, play hockey or basketball, ride your bike to work or have a daily yoga practise — almost everyone, regardless of body shape or size, can find a way to benefit.</p>
<p><em>Scott Lear writes the weekly blog <a href="https://drscottlear.com/">Feeling Health with Dr. Scott Lear</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/95506/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Scott Lear receives funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Heart and Stroke Foundation, Novo Nordisk, Hamilton Health Sciences and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.</span></em></p>From opioids to endocannabinoids, an exercise scholar digs into the science to explain the mental health benefits of a regular workout.Scott Lear, Professor of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/927322018-03-15T22:29:45Z2018-03-15T22:29:45ZCan the healthy brain offer clues to curing Alzheimer's?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/210651/original/file-20180315-104650-113gsmc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=496&amp;fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">There are currently no effective treatments for Alzheimer’s disease, which causes may elders to live their last years without recognizing their loved ones, and unable to care for themselves. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>“Have you cured Alzheimer’s disease yet?” </p>
<p>This is a common question people ask when they discover that I do brain and memory research. And I can understand why. Many of us have witnessed elderly people spending their final years unable to recognize loved ones or to take care of themselves due to Alzheimer’s. It’s terrifying to imagine losing your independence in this way.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, despite extensive research, there are <a href="https://www.alz.org/alzheimers_disease_treatments.asp">no effective treatments for Alzheimer’s disease.</a> </p>
<p>Many of the promising medications that have been developed have had disappointing results in clinical trials, possibly because those enrolled have already had Alzheimer’s for too long. </p>
<p>The brain changes caused by Alzheimer’s actually start many years, even decades, before the onset of serious memory problems. That is why scientists like myself think it’s critical to find ways of detecting the disease before symptoms appear.</p>
<p>I study the “memory centres” of the brain at the <a href="https://www.baycrest.org/Baycrest/Research-Innovation/About-Us/Rotman-Research-Institute">Rotman Research Institute</a> at Baycrest Health Sciences and as an assistant professor at the <a href="http://home.psych.utoronto.ca/">University of Toronto</a>. These memory centres are the first to “shrink” — in other words, lose brain tissue — due to the build-up of proteins that cause Alzheimer’s disease. </p>
<p>I <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2017.04.025">recently published a study</a> that used <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetic_resonance_imaging">magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)</a> to measure the region of the brain that we think develops those disease-causing proteins before any other brain region.</p>
<h2>Measuring the brain</h2>
<p>This study was the first to measure the size of a specific area within the brain known as the anterolateral entorhinal cortex. </p>
<p>Many previous studies have examined brain tissue or the volume of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hippocampus">hippocampus</a>, which is a closely related region. However, we think the hippocampus is affected later in the disease compared to the anterolateral entorhinal cortex. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/210648/original/file-20180315-104676-1d12mls.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/210648/original/file-20180315-104676-1d12mls.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=759&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210648/original/file-20180315-104676-1d12mls.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=759&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210648/original/file-20180315-104676-1d12mls.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=759&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210648/original/file-20180315-104676-1d12mls.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=954&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210648/original/file-20180315-104676-1d12mls.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=954&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210648/original/file-20180315-104676-1d12mls.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=954&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Image of brain with regions of the medial temporal lobe colour-coded.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Our study was also the first published paper to show that older adults with very subtle memory problems (not yet noticeable in their everyday lives) have less brain tissue in the anterolateral entorhinal cortex.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.olsenmemorylab.com/">research my laboratory conducts on structural (brain size) biomarkers of Alzheimer’s disease</a> is directly related to the development of tools to diagnose and evaluate treatments for neuro-degenerative disease. </p>
<p>It’s extremely important to me and my colleagues that our science will some day help someone with dementia suffer less, or develop the disease more slowly.</p>
<h2>How memories are stored</h2>
<p>While a large part of my research program is dedicated to identifying tools to identify Alzheimer’s disease, another focus of my laboratory is on the basic “cognitive neuroscience” of memory. </p>
<p>Many of the <a href="https://www.olsenmemorylab.com/people">members of my team are interested in understanding the fundamental organization of memory in the healthy, young adult brain.</a> </p>
<p>The goal is to understand how memory works in the absence of a neuro-degenerative disease (in other words, to figure out how memory works in healthy people). </p>
<p>For example, there are still competing theories about the types of mental activities that the anterolateral entorhinal cortex supports. Some of my research is focused on understanding exactly which mental activities involve this critical region.</p>
<p>While we have made considerable progress over the past half-century or so in understanding how the brain supports our ability to remember, there is still much to learn. </p>
<p>The tools and data analytic techniques are getting better and better, and these advances are allowing my team to make exciting new discoveries about how we create memories, why everybody sometimes forgets things and how we might improve our memories.</p>
<h2>Before the brain is “broken”</h2>
<p>This basic research on memory is crucially important in our scientific quest to help people with Alzheimer’s disease. </p>
<p>Only by knowing how the brain works before it is “broken” will we be in a position to develop treatments for dementia. </p>
<p>For example, once we know which brain networks are involved in a certain type of memory, we can help individuals with Alzheimer’s disease use different parts of the brain to compensate for the areas that are damaged. </p>
<p>If we can develop memory strategies or cognitive interventions that tap into the areas of the brain that are still intact, we could limit the impact of a patient’s memory impairment. In other words, a healthy brain area may able to take over some of the jobs of an impaired or shrunken brain area.</p>
<p>Through my research and public outreach, I try to share why it is critical to study the basic cognitive neuroscience of memory. In honour of those whom we have lost to Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia, I will continue to conduct research that will, I hope, make a significant impact in our collective efforts to diagnose, treat and perhaps even cure Alzheimer’s disease. </p>
<p>I hope too that a better understanding of this disease, and the brain regions affected by it, will ease the fears of those who dread someday losing their most cherished memories.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/92732/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rosanna Olsen receives funding from The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC). She is also on the steering committee of the Hippocampal Subfields Group, working toward the formation of a harmonized protocol for the segmentation of the hippocampal subfields and medial temporal lobe subregions. </span></em></p>Study of the "memory centres" of the brain in adults offers hope for detecting Alzheimer's disease earlier -- before the onset of memory loss.Rosanna Olsen, Scientist at the Rotman Research Institute, Baycrest Health Sciences, and Assistant Professor, University of TorontoLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.